“The omnibus jobs and energy legislation signed by Gov. Mark Dayton will remove utility regulators’ authority to settle customer disputes with electric co-ops — a measure the governor earlier vetoed as a single-issue bill.
The new law will diminish the Minnesota Public Utility Commission’s oversight of the state’s 45 electric co-ops, which are mostly in rural areas. But it does allow the PUC to finish an inquiry into fees that the co-ops have been charging to customers with solar-panel arrays. The PUC is looking at whether the methodology behind the fees complies with state law….
Dayton had vetoed a similar measure in March after indicating he would quash bills that he perceived as weakening the PUC’s authority. The earlier stand-alone legislation had passed by large measures in both the House and Senate.”
http://www.startribune.com/state-further-restricts-puc-oversight-of-electric-co-ops/425509823/