Minnesota Power: Going green means a rate hike

john e.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 3:05 PM

I am willing to pay $50.00 more per month to have MN Power clean up its act. If power customers would look around and unplug all unnecessary devices that use energy on standby, maybe install a geothermal heat pump, Insulate the attic, Fill the holes in their homes...... need I say more. Your power bill would more than likely go down even after the price increase. Also keep in mind that we are in an area of the country with the lowest utility cost in the nation. Most areas of the country are paying 2 to 4 times what we pay.

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Dan H.
11/03/2009 3:00 PM

Thank you yet again to all you people who invariably vote DFL across the board because that's what your parents and grandparents always did, even though you have no idea why. You're now getting exactly what you asked for, so it's a little late to complain now.

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Peanutgallery L.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 2:59 PM

I think we need to consider the environment and the way we have polluted it for years. I agree we need to take steps to be responsible when it is feasible. But our government is taking this too far with Cap and Trade. They need to create incentives not directives. Like it is being said about China... they are in the middle of huge expansions that are not in the least bit green. India is doing the same. It has been reported that less than 50% of the accessible oil remains and is being used in record quantities. I don't know if that is really true or just more spin. But I do know they can make cars with better gas mileage, they can recycle hot air in the kilns in the taconite plants and save money and fuel. I don't think it hurts us to take steps toward cleaner fuels and more renewable energy sources. Thr problem I have is our government is trying to cash in on it and that's what really costs.

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Josh M.
Kabetogama, MN     11/03/2009 2:53 PM

Didn't they get a bunch of stimulus money already? Shouldn't that have gone to their "improvements" that they've already made? Isn't part of the stimulus money supposed to be used for future "green" "improvements" and upgrades to the system? Again 20% rate increase is some major BS. If this is government mandated improvements then they should get this rate increase from them not the consumers.

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jerry n.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 2:34 PM

John A., I can only afford the cheap crap from China. Remember they have the cheap coal powered plants.

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John A.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 2:27 PM

"Start locking up thses evironmental terrorists who spew lies." -- If nothing else, I think we can all agree that over-using the term "terrorists" is irresponsible and diminishes the serious threat that violent extremists pose to the civilized world. We have soldiers - our sons and daughters - dying in a war on global terrorism. Please, let us not use these terms lightly. You may disagree with the philosophy of your fellow citizens, but saying they have a terroristic intention to do harm is not at all accurate or constructive. It makes me wonder who the real "extremists" are...

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Kim H.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 2:26 PM

The whole green movement is a bunch of bunk, touted, supported, championed...whatever, by those who aim to gain both financially and politically as a result. Could we all be more responsible in our day to day use of resources, yes. But to ram it down our throats with no absolute proof that this junk science is real, absolutely not. There is enough oil in N. Dakota alone that would last most of our lifetimes and create thousands of good paying jobs in the oil fields and the realted trades,local encomies, etc., yet the green gomers have so much pull, we can't touch it. But they'll allow foreign countries to drill right off our shores and then charge us for the benefit of buying our own oil back. Pretty slick, don't you think? We had better wise up and in a great big hurry or we'll all be marching to the same socialist/environmental drum followed shortly by a kool-aid toast no doubt.

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John A.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 2:23 PM

bucky b - Your scare tactics warn people that their lights will soon be turned off and they will be forced to ride their bikes through blizzards, but those two points seem at odds to me. If we have to turn our lights off, presumably because renewable energy is too expensive for us to keep them on, one would assume that this indicates a world where renewable energy usage is more widespread than it is today. It seems like this would lessen the demand for oil and thereby decrease the price of crude (simple supply and demand stuff). This would make gas more affordable at the pump and I could drive even more. Now, if we have to consume crude to heat and power our homes and to drive our cars, I imagine we'll see the price of oil go up as fast as it did last year. When that happened last summer, I couldn't afford to drive and had to ride my bike more, although there were no blizzards in June (thank God). So I pose a serious question: How can a push for renewable energy raise the price of oil and thereby affect our driving habits? If anything, it seems like alternative energy sources would provide just that - an alternative to oil, so that the next time the Saudis want to jack up their prices, we can say "no thanks" and fire up the wood-fired boilers and wind turbines. Can we have a serious discussion about these factors without all the doomsday crap?

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Truth In Duluth E.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 1:58 PM

No matter what your beliefs are about global warming and green jobs, be careful who you blame for Minnesota Power's rate increase and why it is being done. Minnesota's Republican Governor, Timmy Pawlenty, signed the legislation and actually made several stops around the state, including Duluth, to tout its benefits. Please remember that the Governor's purpose in supporting this bill was to promote renewable energy sources.

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bucky b.
Duluth, MN     11/03/2009 1:18 PM

This is what happens when you let environmentalists dictate to the rest of us what we need to do...Mn Power is required by the state to get 25% of their power from renewable sources in 18 years. That means we have to reduce using as much coal (cheap) and use a new source which is unproven in cost (most likely more expensive). It costs money to build windmills and bio mass systems right away. Then we have to live with our lights off because some environmentalist thinks it is a good idea. Next we will be riding bicycles in blizzards because it is the "right thing to do"

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