News of the week

September 26, 2024

Minnesota launches its first Workplace Rights Week 

Workplace Rights Week in Minnesota (Sept. 22-28, 2024) is new this year. It is billed as "an opportunity to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace. Safe and healthy workplaces are what make our economy and communities strong, and it’s important Minnesotans understand their workplace rights and are empowered to assert those rights."

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss the purpose of the week and to highlight new worker protections in Minnesota. The State has also created a website—with helpful tools and videos—to assist employers in communicating about these laws.

The Minnesota Department of Health wants to hear from YOU about the future of Minnesota’s drinking water

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is working with its partners on a 10-year plan with the goal of making sure that every Minnesotan has access to safe and abundant drinking water.

MDH describes this plan as one that will serve each and every Minnesotan, provide a commitment to the future of water in the state, build on existing plans, and consider the ideas of all Minnesotans. To learn more, click here. To provide input, click here.

Willmar Municipal Utilities retracts GM offer

The Willmar Municipal Utilities Commission is working through its next steps after retracting an offer of employment to their top general manager candidate, Joel Lemke. Lemke, who is the current director of public utilities and transportation in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, had indicated that he would like to stay in Stevens Point for the next 24 months and incorporate remote work.

Working with its executive search consulting firm, the Commission will now decide whether to review the top 10 candidates again or review the slate of remaining finalists. Janelle Johnson, Willmar Municipal Utilities’ Director of Administration, will continue to serve as interim General Manager as the search process continues. Former General Manager John Harren retired on September 20.

Last chance! FREE Earned Sick and Safe Time Webinar for MMUA members is TODAY

MMUA invites all members to participate in a free webinar on Thursday, September 26 from 10:00–11:00 am. The webinar will discuss Minnesota's Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST) law, including the latest updates which went into effect at the end of the legislative session in May. MMUA's Organizational Development and Human Resources Manager Shelly Dau will be presenting. 

The ESST law was effective January 1, 2024, and it requires Minnesota employers to provide paid leave to employees who work in the state. This leave can be used for reasons including an employee's illness, to care for a sick family member, or to seek assistance if an employee or their family member has experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. 

The ESST law was updated in May 2024 to clarify who qualifies for ESST, the rate at which ESST must be paid, ESST application to other paid time off, and more. We will cover it all, and we will address frequently asked questions. Please plan to join us!

Registration is required for this meeting. For more information and to register, click here. 

Xcel to distribute $500,000 to low-income customers, Xcel also responsible for $54.7 million in other refunds

On September 19, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) required Xcel Energy to provide $500,000 in funds as bill credits to low-income customers with overdue bills. These bill credits will be paid due to Xcel’s service quality issues in working with low-income customers that were overdue.

Xcel was penalized a total of $1 million for underperformance in consumer complaints in 2023. The other $500,000 will be refunded to Xcel’s electric customers. Commissioner Valerie Means noted there was inequity in how Xcel worked with low-income customers in the areas of disconnections, past due accounts, and compounding penalties on accounts. 

Xcel is currently working with stakeholders to create more equity in providing electricity service to all of its customers.

On September 19, the PUC also approved a series of refunds that Xcel must issue to customers. The total of these payments is about $54.7 million, which translates to approximately $20 per customer bill. The payments are necessary due to the annual "true up" process as well as to compensate for Xcel's outage performance. This includes an October 2023 incident in which Xcel employees cut underground cables that shut down the Prairie Island nuclear facility and led to unplanned outages.

Learn more about the bill credits for low-income customers here and about $54.7 million in refunds here.

Registration is open!

Registration for MMUA's Technical and Operations (T&O) Conference has opened! This year’s conference featuring the theme “Safer Together” will be at the St. Cloud Holiday Inn from December 10-12. The program will feature speakers on topics such as safety, building a customer service culture, and the ever-popular roundtables.

Reservations can be made using this special link. MMUA has secured a reduced room rate of $112/ night for the conference.

Registration for the conference is available here. We will be excited to see you there!

Funding opportunities

Minnesota Department of Commerce issues RFP for its electric grid resilience grant program on September 16.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce issued an RFP for grants available to community-owned municipal utilities, cooperatives, and power agencies. A total of $5.3 million will be available, with maximum grants of $250,000. There are no match requirements. Proposals are due November 19, 2024.

MMUA held informational webinars on Tuesday, September 17 and September 24.

• Download the RFP here
• Review slides from DOC's webinar here
• Review slides from MMUA's September 17 webinar here
• Review the recording of MMUA's September 17 informational webinar here
• Review slides from MMUA's September 24 webinar here
• Review the recording of MMUA's September 24 webinar here
• Review the grant timeline here

MMUA will again provide members with assistance in preparing their grant requests by hosting webinars and making team members available for consultation. Contact Karleen Kos or Blaine Chaulklin for more information.

Looking ahead

Transformer School and pre-conference workshop

November 19–22, 2024

MMUA Training Center, Marshall

This course focuses on three-phase transformer connections. Our highly qualified instructor, Scott Meinecke, has decades of experience working with and providing training on all manner of topics related to transformers. Participants will appreciate Scott's unique ability to explain complicated topics, so that they are more easily understood. This course includes classroom and hands-on instruction. Participants can expect to learn about the basics of transformers including turns ratios, polarities, calculations, and connections. Working with miniature transformers, participants will put their troubleshooting skills to the test.

The pre-conference workshop is intended to serve as a basic or refresher course on the fundamentals of single-phase transformer connections and theory. The course includes instruction on topics such as safe work practices, transformer theory, basic calculations, connections, and sizing. This course would be helpful for any lineworker, as well as personnel from other departments that may assist as a ground person.

Check MMUA's events calendar for full details and to register.

As always, thank you for your association with MMUA and your commitment to delivering excellent service through locally owned utility assets in your community. Have a great week!

Karleen Kos

Chief Executive Officer

Direct: 763-746-0701 / Cell: 813-675-7589

kkos@mmua.org | www.mmua.org

Hometown services. Hometown strengths. Hometown solutions.