As you may be well aware, electric cooperatives were born in politics, and it’s extremely important we engage our legislators to advocate on your behalf on legislative issues affecting your electric cooperative. The 2025 MN legislative session began January 14. Here are the energy-related issues impacting your cooperative at the state level:
Property Tax
Our top priority and a carryover from last year will be the property tax exemption legislation. Since 1939, the Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR) has excluded co-op-owned rural meters and streetlights from a rural electrification property tax and instead, Minnesota electric cooperatives pay a per member tax. This legislation would protect that exemption.
The Senate Taxes Committee heard SF 132, and the Minnesota DOR testified in support of the bill. A companion bill will be introduced in the House. The governor has also included this policy in his proposed tax bill. We support the bill.
Net Metering Reform
We will continue to push for net metering reform. Under existing net metering laws, we are seeing more and more net-metered systems sized at 39.9-kW installed on small services. This allows the net metering participants to distribute and sell more electricity to the cooperative for which we are required by law to pay the average retail rate. In short, we are required to pay a premium for this electricity when we could purchase it for less through our wholesale power supplier. Electric cooperatives have long sought to correct this deficiency by implementing a size-to-load provision, which would still allow members to offset their own use, which was the original intent of net metering, while protecting other members who may not want or cannot afford to install their own generation. We support net metering reform.
Nuclear
The Minnesota Rural Electric Association (MREA) is part of a coalition attempting to lift the nuclear moratorium in Minnesota. The House Energy Committee heard HF 9, a bill that would lift the nuclear moratorium. MREA testified in favor of lifting the nuclear moratorium and in general support for the bill which included carbon capture and large hydroelectricity counting toward the 100% carbon-free by 2040 law. The Senate Energy Committee will continue its focus on nuclear energy with two bills. SF 350 proposes to lift the nuclear moratorium and SF 468 proposes to lift the nuclear moratorium for small modular reactors under 300 megawatts. We support lifting Minnesota’s nuclear moratorium.
We will continue to advocate on your behalf to provide our members with safe, reliable, and affordable electricity now and into the future.
Jared