The outage chart shows how long, on average, the lights stay off when there is a power outage. In Minnesota, investor-owned electric utilities’ reported system outage times (in blue) were shorter than the national average (in green). How long power stays out is one way to measure the “reliability” of Minnesota’s electric utilities. This is called SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index). SAIDI also allows for national comparison to a sample of other utilities.

The emissions bar chart shows that between 2006 and 2020 emissions from generating electricity are decreasing every year. The Next Generation Energy Act sets a goal to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emission reductions by 80 percent (2005 baseline). The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reports that emissions within the power (or electricity) sector have decreased at a rate consistent with state statutory goals. Emissions data are from Minnesota’s Energy Policy and Conservation Quadrennial Report and the greenhouse gas emissions data.

The electricity costs diagram shows that Minnesotans pay less for electricity, compared to residential customers in other states. PUC staff present these data annually to the Commissioners to help inform their decisions on things like how much utilities can charge for electric power, the effect of conservation programs, and the types of fuel (natural gas, wind, solar, etc.) used by Minnesotans. Rates for industrial and commercial customers vary widely from state to state and across utilities. This depends on the types of business and industrial activities in those states and the varying rate structures for industrial customers. MN Statutes 216C.05 sets an energy policy goal that retail electricity rates for each customer class be at least five percent below the national average.