An April 24 opinion piece by David Morris ("If it's citizens vs. utilities, utilities win") criticized the process state regulators use to review and approve new transmission lines and questioned whether Minnesotans had an opportunity to participate in the recent proceedings concerning three 345-kilovolt lines proposed by CapX2020, a group of 11 utilities.
The piece also made a rather bizarre comparison between sports stadiums and electric transmission lines. Electricity is an essential service that every Minnesotan depends on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The state regulatory process encourages public participation. It requires an independent review to ensure that utilities' plans undergo a thorough and comprehensive vetting.
In the CapX2020 case:
•The Minnesota Department of Commerce held 10 public meetings, and an administrative law judge held 19 public hearings. Any interested citizen could attend and speak.
•To be a formal intervener, an individual or group simply had to sign up.
•The utilities hosted more than 100 public meetings and made more than 150 public presentations about the projects.
Following that extensive review, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously that the three lines are needed. The decision upheld the recommendation of an administrative law judge, who reviewed thousands of pages of testimony and public comments and conducted seven weeks of evidentiary hearings and three weeks of public hearings.
