6.1a ERMUSR 09-12-2023UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:FROM:
ERMU CommissionMark Hanson– General Manager
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
September 12, 2023 6.1a
SUBJECT:
Staff Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
The Wage & Benefits Committeeheld their open meeting on August 18. Staff
representatives presented four requests for consideration related to pay, on-call response,
and time off. The committee will meet again September 12. Their plan is to present the
committee’s recommendation at the October commission meeting.
Greg Ridderbusch, Connexus Energy’s CEO since 2015, has submitted his retirement notice
to the board. Connexus has retained a search firm to assist with selecting Greg’s successor,
with a targeted transition of early 2024. Additional information can be found here:
Connexus Energy CEO Succession – Connexus Energy.
Commissioner Stewart and I attended the August 2023 Minnesota Municipal Power Agency
(MMPA) Board of Directors meeting. The public summary of the meeting is below:
o The Board of Directors of MMPA met on August 29, 2023, at Chaska City Hall in Chaska,
Minnesota and via videoconference.
o The Board reviewed the Agency’s financial and operating performance for July 2023.
o Customer penetration for the residential Clean Energy Choice program increased to
4.9%. There was an increase of 49 customers participating in the residential Clean
Energy Choice program from June to July.
o The Board discussed the current business environment.
o The Board discussed the status of renewable projects the Agency is pursuing.
In response to my query, MMPA Vice President David Niles offered the following publicly
releasable bullets regarding their renewable natural gas project in Elk River:
o The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency is developing a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG)
project at the Elk River Landfill in Elk River, Minnesota. The project would take gas
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produced by decomposition of materials in the landfill and convert it to pipeline-quality
natural gas.
o MMPA has requested to interconnect with the Northern Natural Gas (NNG) pipeline
near the project site. Thus far, NNG has not offered an interconnection agreement to
MMPA. As a result, MMPA filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC).
o The timing and outcome of the FERC complaint process is uncertain. We do, however,
expect resolution of this issue in 2024.
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