Legalectric

It’s that time again — Xcel Energy has filed for yet another electric rate increase. I’d Petitioned to Intervene, and for some reason, Xcel doesn’t want lil’ ol’ moi in the rate case:

So no intervention in this rate case, or the one prior. There is a trend. Anyhoo…

Tonight is Xcel Energy’s electric rate case in Red Wing.  Last rate case, I’d requested hearing for Red Wing, there wasn’t one on list, and it happened, and now, here we are again.

And the full schedule – two online hearings coming up:

For the WebEx hearings:

The Direct Testimony of intervenors is now filed, ready for you to check out.

To review filings, go HERE: https://mn.gov/puc/edockets/

Then click on “Go to eDockets” and then scroll down to search:

The docket number is 21 (year)-630 (number).

On the docket, check out the testimony of OAG-RUD (Office of Attorney General – Residential Utilities Division), they do the bestest job of representing ratepayer interests (though they lost attorney Ian Dobson, to Xcel — serious loss to Minnesota — I wonder what it cost to woo him to the dark side!!). On Sunday, when A.G. Ellison was here in Red Wing, I asked him to explain the work of RUD. Over the decades, I’ve been SO impressed with their detailed and intense work in some bizarrely arcane areas (that only regulatory wonks like moi seem to appreciate) that has significant impact on those of us Xcel customers.

Most interesting to me is the testimony of Nancy Campbell, Commerce-DER. She’s the one who testified in the last rate case that Xcel Energy paid almost NO corporate income taxes:

The good news is there was follow up — Xcel was audited for the time period above, as testimony in this rate case states (tax info starts on pl 83 of pdf/81 of testimony). From Campbell Testimony, attached.

And Campbell explains that the window for Xcel to request recovery in the rates passed, and reasons why their current recovery request should be denied.

Xcel Energy can be counted on to under-pay taxes.  Do read this testimony to see how they’re trying to recover. Taxes on a for-profit corporation are important, because the only purpose of a corporation is to make money (the corporate responsibility to the public was eliminated decades ago), and Xcel does a very good job of making money. Xcel has too well succeeded in cutting utility personal property tax, which as you know has a massive impact on Red Wing.

This Xcel Energy influence, and the sharp blade of utility personal property tax hanging over us, is a primary reason I don’t think anyone associated with Xcel should be on the City Council, either with a direct employment relationship, an Xcel pension, or Xcel stock. In our area we have a long history of local and state officials too close to Xcel/NSP to actively fight to protect our individual and local government interests.

Hope to see you all at the rate case to learn more about Xcel Energy and what we’re paying for!

The Bit 49 data-mining crypto-currency facility in Glencoe, MN is in the news:

Neighbors unhappy about crypto mining operation in Glencoe, Minn.

Crypto company says it’s doing everything possible to reduce noise. 

By John Reinan Star Tribune October 1, 2022 — 5:00pm

GLENCOE, MINN. — Eddie Gould and Sandra Olson have lived for decades next to a cement plant, a canning factory and a busy truck route. But they say nothing has disturbed their peace and quiet like the crypto mining operation that recently opened in this McLeod County town about 50 miles west of the Twin Cities.

“It is the dominant factor of living here right now,” said Gould, a retired actor and taxi driver. “It rattles the fabric of our house and our yard. You can hear it 24 hours a day — it never stops.”

The couple said they’ve stopped using their backyard deck because of noise from the banks of computers and cooling fans about 200 feet from their property. Olson, who bought the house more than 50 years ago, said she’s “mad about the whole thing.”

Crypto mining is an intensive computing process that produces cryptocurrency, of which Bitcoin is the best-known example. Crypto miners use massive amounts of computing power to solve complex mathematical problems that yield value in the form of digital currency that’s traded outside the normal banking system.

The Glencoe crypto operation is owned by Bit49, a Colorado-based company. Cody Nelson, Bit49’s chief operating officer, said the company has gone to great lengths to respond to the couple’s concerns.

“We’ve done everything we can,” he said. “We consult professionals; they say, ‘Do this,’ and we do it.”

Throughout the Upper Midwest, cities and power companies are hoping to cash in on crypto mining, which uses massive amounts of electricity. For a power utility, a crypto mine can be a gold mine.

A new crypto mining operation in Jamestown, N.D., a city of about 16,000 residents, will use twice as much energy as the entire city. The Jamestown operation immediately ranked as the second-largest customer of Minnesota-based Otter Tail Power Co.

Meanwhile, Brainerd’s municipal power utility is moving forward on deals with two crypto operations that plan to locate in the city.

The Bit49 computers in Glencoe are outdoors in a fenced gravel lot across the road from the Olson and Gould home. Called “modular data centers,” they’re housed in large metal boxes that resemble shipping containers; they operate 24/7 and are cooled by banks of fans.

Nelson said the company has taken a number of steps to mitigate the noise from its operation, which opened last winter. They’re operating fans at lower RPM and have installed sensors that reduce the fan speed in cooler weather when the computers run less hot. Exhaust vents now have hoods and baffles that help diffuse the sound, and the company added an evaporative cooling system to further reduce the need for fan cooling.

Just last week, the company installed a polymer soundproofing blanket along the fence, which Nelson said could significantly reduce noise.

“That was an expensive fence,” Nelson said, costing tens of thousands of dollars. “We won’t be doing any more of that fence. It would be cheaper to buy their house.”

When Bit49’s crypto operation first opened, it was producing sound levels of 80 to 85 decibels, which is about the same as a gasoline-powered lawnmower or leaf blower running 24 hours a day. Nelson said the noise is now in the 70- to 75-decibel range, equivalent to a washing machine or dishwasher. The soundproofing blanket could reduce that by 20 decibels or more, he said, and the company plans to retest the noise level now that the soundproofing is installed.

Gould and Olson really shouldn’t have any expectation of quiet solitude, Nelson said, given that the land across the street from their home has been zoned for industrial use for decades. Seneca Foods has a busy corn-canning plant there, and there used to be a cement plant on the site, as well.

“Honestly, in my opinion, they’re making noise because they think we make a lot of money and they think they’ll get something out of it by fighting us,” he said.

In recent months, the value of digital currencies has crashed in what traders have called “crypto winter,” with the price of Bitcoin falling nearly 70%. Compute North, an Eden Prairie crypto data center, filed for bankruptcy protection last month with debt of between $100 million and $500 million.

The failure of a crypto mine could put a burden on other customers of utilities that bet heavily on the industry. But Dave Meyer, general manager of city-owned Glencoe Light & Power, said the company has planned cautiously to protect its 2,700 customers. The utility spent a modest amount on infrastructure to serve the crypto mine and has already recouped most of that investment, he said.

“When we decided to move forward with this venture, we vowed it would not have a negative financial impact on our customers,” he said. “This whole thing has been structured in that fashion. We certainly couldn’t let a situation arise that would impact our long-term customers because we were bringing in one new one.”

Meanwhile, Gould and Olson will be spending the sunny autumn days indoors rather than on their deck. They say the company’s efforts to cut the noise haven’t had much effect.

“No, no,” Olson said. “No. I don’t think there’s been any reduction at all. It seems to be just as loud as it was.”

Gould said the couple’s complaints to city and state officials have gotten no helpful response. The couple invited Glencoe’s mayor over to listen to the noise, Olson said, and got nowhere: “You might as well be talking to the vine here.”

“We’re worried about our health. We’re worried about our sanity,” Gould said. “We feel greatly oppressed.”

Said Olson: “I’m just crossing my fingers that this one will go under.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

70-75 dB(A) is way over the MPCA’s industrial noise standard:

SHUT IT DOWN!! There is no excuse for inflicting this on neighbors. On the other hand, it may be time for a buy-out, as Bit 49 states:

“That was an expensive fence,” Nelson said, costing tens of thousands of dollars. “We won’t be doing any more of that fence. It would be cheaper to buy their house.”

It’s quiet here over the weekend, the Sturtevant redo is in a pause — catching up from last week’s escape. This week, they’re putting in the curbs and sidewalks, no parking for days, like a week, so once again, hitting the road. In the meantime, here’s something well worth reading:

They’ve been working on redoing the storm drains, sewer, and water on Sturtevant, and it’s been really tough to concentrate, what with all the beeping and banging and clattering and now and then earthshaking BOOMS. But it got worse.

Yesterday was the day to put in our water and sewer to connect to new system, and move our meter in the basement over to the north side of the house from the southeast corner. Unreal, I had no idea how invasive that would be, took out 1/2 of our side yard, 1/2 of the plantings along the house, our big snowball that had just started blooming this year, the old one that is probably as old as the house (100years!), and had to move a just planted little apple tree (hope that survives). Just too much, after selling the trailer Saturday, couldn’t stand to hear them digging and digging, and it was not just deep, but WIDE! After they finished, they tore up the sidewalks on both sides, and loaded the big chunks into the dumpster. TOO MUCH! Can’t get any work done… I give up!

Doo, doo, dooooo, lookin’ out my front door:

And the bluff and Mississippi out the back door:

A few nights in the woods in this perfect weather, sunny, warm, and breezy, doesn’t get any better. Light rain and thunder last night, but the Wawona 6 is made for it. As I told lil’ bro’ David, camping doesn’t have to be cold, wet, and on the ground!

And plenty of office space too!

And did I mention that they’ve opened the new bathrooms at Frontenac, complete with dishwashing sinks? How cool is that!

Whose brilliant idea was this? Think about it — what community would consent to siting of nuclear waste in the neighborhood? Been there, done that, with Xcel Energy f/k/a Northern States Power’s proposal to site nuclear waste in Florence Township, on the shore of the Mississippi, in an alfalfa field, next to the Sportsman’s Club/Community Center, and Wells Creek. Yeah, great idea… NOT.

Here is their summary of comments received: