Minnesota governor vetoes bill that would have exempted electric utilities from PUC regulation

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Dayton cited fair access and safeguarding the interests of utility customers among his reasons for the highly-commended result. Source: Flickr/mrbill

Minnesota governor Mark Dayton has vetoed anti-solar bill HF234/SF141 that would have removed the authority of the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to settle certain electric utility disputes.

Among several reasons for the veto, Dayton expressed a desire to not weaken the PUC’s authority:

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

“The PUC plays an essential role in Minnesota, safeguarding the interests of Minnesota utility customers now and in the future. As Legislators consider additional proposals regarding the PUC this session, they should know that I will not accept any bill that limits or weakens the Commission's authority to protect the interests of Minnesota's energy consumers. I will, however, consider any serious proposal to improve the functioning of this essential public body,” he wrote in a letter to state representative Kurt Daudt, citing an earlier statement from February.

Instead of the PUC regulating, the bill directed that disputes over solar fees would be mediated by an independent party, rather than the PUC.

“The PUC uniquely retains the expertise in energy issues needed to fairly resolve these disputes. While the bill allows for third-party mediation to resolve disputes, it does not provide any guidance on how this mediation would work,” wrote Dayton, doubting the feasibility of the bill’s proposal.

The bill would have also rendered municipal utilities exempt from PUC jurisdiction with respect to resolving net metering disputes, giving rise to potentially higher fees to be imposed without the necessary regulatory safeguarding.

“This legislation would create uncertainty for all municipal and cooperative electric utility customers seeking to produce their own renewable and efficient energy. It could impact economic  development in Greater Minnesota, and the thousands of jobs in renewable energy in our state. I cannot support this legislation,” concluded Dayton in his letter. 

Industry reception

SEIA and the solar industry commend Governor Dayton for vetoing legislation that would have stripped rural Minnesota residents of critical consumer protection and hindered solar’s growth in the state. In doing so, Dayton stood up for both consumers and economic growth,” said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) in a statement.

“Due to policies championed by the Governor, Minnesota emerged as a national leader in solar energy last year. The state installed more community solar than any other state in the country. The Governor’s decision ensures that more Minnesotans can access solar energy and that clean energy jobs continue to grow.”

A victory for some and a loss for others, representative Pat Garofalo, co-author of the bill was said to be “disappointed”.

“The rural communities had done everything right to achieve a bipartisan consensus on the issue,” Garofalo said.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

July 1, 2025
Independent power producer (IPP) Arevon Energy has closed a US$600 million credit facility to support its solar PV and energy storage portfolio in the US.
June 30, 2025
Heliene has completed the sale of Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits in association with Minnesota-based U.S. Bank.
June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.
June 30, 2025
US clean energy developer Clearway Energy Group has received corporate credit facilities over US$1 billion.
Premium
June 27, 2025
PV Talk: '2024 was a transformational year in terms of energy policy,' says Monika Paplaczyk ahead of this year's Clean Power 2030 Summits.
June 26, 2025
A round-up of news from the US solar sector this week, including Akuo, Meta and RWE.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA