New Rebates & Energy Rates in Minnesota are Likely to Increase
Xcel Energy has asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) for permission to increase its electricity rates by $156.065 million. Residential kilowatt hour rates are anticipated to rise. The rate increase asked for will be in the summer (June-September) from 6.755¢ to 7.628¢ per kilowatt hour, an increase of 12%. In the winter the rate increase asked for will be from 5.807¢ to 6.628¢ per kilowatt hour, an increase of 14%.
The proposed rate increase is outlined in this document from Xcel.
On a more positive note, some interesting rebates are available from Xcel for doing energy conservation work in the home. You can see up to a $350 rebate for improving the insulation in your attic. See this link for more details. These rebates are in addition to Federal tax credits of up to $1500 available to you.
Between the expected rise in energy cost and the rebates and incentives available, the time has never been better for improving your homes energy performance with more insulation and air tightening.