Legalectric

Sirens? Look at them all surrounding Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant:

Today at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, during discussion of granting Xcel Energy a Certificate of Need for many new nuclear waste storage casks, as an aside, but a VERY IMPORTANT aside, Chair Sieben asked about the emergency warning sirens.

The meeting isn’t posted yet, but will be soon, scroll down to #44 at the bottom of list for their YouTube channel.

For some reason lately, Xcel Energy must have floated a press release, the transfer of sirens is in the news. Yup, that’s it, a press release — here’s their August 1, 2025 press release about emergency sirens:

New technology will enhance safety communications near Xcel Energy’s nuclear plants

And look who’s picked it up, just some of them:

• Xcel Energy switches from sirens to cellphone alerts to warn public of nuclear emergencies
• Xcel Energy will now use cellphones to send emergency alerts related to nuclear plants
• Xcel Energy replaces nuclear plant sirens with wireless alerts to boost public safety
• Xcel Energy switches from sirens to cell phone alerts to warn public of nuclear emergencies
• Xcel Energy will now use cellphones to send emergency alerts related to nuclear plants

Cell phones? (Note Monticello also signed up last year, and they only took on 5 sirens, compared with Red Wing’s 33. Hmmmmmm…)

Who has phone on them and ON 24/7, and what about those who don’t have it, or are in the areas here with unreliable or no cell service?

Look at all the emergency warning sirens on that map above, and in that little chart in lower left corner, Xcel says there are 40,870 people in the vicinity of these sirens. Xcel Energy wants to eliminate their responsibility for these sirens and use cell phones for emergency warnings, as they say, “like Amber Alerts.” With this goal, over time, Xcel Energy has been handing them off to local governments, giving them offers they can’t refuse. From Legalectric last year:

Prairie Island nuclear sirens decommissioning? March 10th, 2024

Local governments get the choice of an Xcel Energy “donation,” and are obligated to take on the responsibility of maintaining and replacing the sirens, OR the sirens will be “decommissioned” by Xcel. Hobson’s choice much?

Here’s the bottom line, from Red Wing’s June 24, 2024 City Council packet:

Why an issue today? Because when PUC Chair Katie Sieben asked about the status of this shift to cell phones, Pam Gorman Prochaska said she didn’t know. She is the Xcel Energy’s General Manager, Nuclear Fleet Operations. If I know about some of the local governments siren deal, how could she not know? Naaah, I just don’t believe it — I think it was a topic that wasn’t to be discussed today. Don’t know?? That’s a really bad look…

Color me incensed. DOH! I’ve had it posted here on Legalectric since March, 2024!

So I fired off a missive to the PUC, a letter AND the City of Red Wing City Council packets from January 22, 2024 and June 24, 2024, where this was discussed, and on June 24, 2024, when the City rolled to Xcel’s extortion and took on the sirens and maintenance, repair and replacement costs. Such a deal…

That process of dumping the sirens and costs onto Red Wing started over a year and a half ago. The documentation and details are here: