This article serves as an important reminder to Minnesotans of all political stripes (who prefer to keep their places warm, showers hot, clothes dry and food cooked) to take a public stand and say, “Hands off my gas!” The best way to do that, besides casting a vote on November 3 for those willing to repeal the NGIA, is to submit comments to the PUC by October 14-21.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued a “Notice of Extended Comment Period” on July 17, 2026 as follows for CenterPoint Energy‘s 2025 annual report on their progress under the 2021 Natural Gas Innovation Act (NGIA):
- the new deadline for party initial comments is August 14, 2026 at 4:30pm;
- the new deadline for utility reply comments is September 16, 2026 at 4:30pm;
- the new deadline for party reply comments is October 14, 2026 at 4:30pm.
The PUC also issued a “Notice of Comment Period” on June 23, 2026 as follows for Xcel Energy‘s 2025 NGIA annual report:
- party initial comment period closes August 19, 2026 at 4:30pm;
- utility reply comment period closes September 18, 2026 at 4:30pm;
- party reply comment period closes October 21, 2026 at 4:30pm.
Anyone from the public can and should comment. Not just on the details of the two annual reports, but also on the ends, means and costs of the NGIA. One can submit comments here:
CenterPoint highlights
CenterPoint’s report is 355 pages in length, structured into 13 sections and 16 exhibits, and includes updates on 17 pilots, 1 proposal and 3 requests. The highlights are:
- Re New Networked Geothermal System: “… additional empirical data has been collected from multiple utility-owned geothermal projects across the United States showing that, for the majority of these projects, the actual costs associated with the construction of a networked geothermal pilot have been significantly higher than anticipated.”
- Re Decarbonizing Existing District Energy Systems: “… will help existing district energy systems that currently use geologic gas identify opportunities to reduce the lifecycle GHG impact of their systems … In 2025, no customers selected to study a full decarbonization/electrification scenario.”
- Re New District Energy System: “… will help current natural gas customers considering developing district energy systems … In 2025, 0 customers completed a New District Energy System (Pilot K) study and the Company paid rebates to 0 customers through Pilot K.”
- Re Small/Medium Business Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Audit: “… the largest energy savings recommendation in many audits is to replace the customer’s boiler with a condensing unit. This measure is often prohibitively expensive and complex. Because most customers are not opting for this high cost and high savings measure[.]”
- Re Residential Gas Heat Pumps: “… the planned supplier of combination (“combi”) space and water heating gas heat pumps had suspended all business operations. …not make this request out of concern for the viability of residential combi gas heat pumps as a promising future emissions reduction measure. … made due to changes…which impacted the technology’s availability during the current five-year NGIA Plan period.”
CenterPoint is looking to recover the following level of NGIA costs from rate payers:
- $2,427,787 spent in 2025, with 93% for pilots and 7% research and development (R&D);
- $5,114,820 spent so far under NGIA, which is 5% of the approved 5-year spend of $105,701,516, with the latter having 90% earmarked for pilots and 10% for R&D.
CenterPoint is seeking to monetize their NGIA spending, through rate increases in natural gas tariffs for both customer classes, to take effect from January 1, 2027 as follows:
- Residential: 48% increase from $0.00360 to $0.00533 per therm;
- Commercial: 30% increase from $0.00618 to $0.00804 per therm.
Xcel highlights
Xcel’s report is 355 pages in length, structured into 9 sections and 4 exhibits, and includes updates on 13 pilots and 6 R&D projects. The highlights are:
- Re Sherco 5MW Hydrogen: “… the hydrogen equipment supplier space has narrowed as a result of declining general market enthusiasm for green hydrogen systems.”
- Re Custom Projects for Large Customers: “… did not have any large customer electrification projects that failed the ECO [Energy Conservation and Optimization] screening criteria, so did not implement any projects in this Pilot.”
- Re Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC): “There are limited equipment options with both furnaces and heat pumps that physically fit in the unique spaces of manufactured homes [and we have] yet to find a heat pump water heater that can be installed, primarily due to space constraints.”
- Re Utility Thermal Energy Network (UTEN): “At a high level, the Company hopes to learn more about whether this technology can be used to decarbonize our gas utility system, cost effectively, at scale.”
- Re Industrial Heat Pump (IHP) Field Trial: “Locating an IHP customer has been challenging…because, even if an IHP is a good technical solution that supports decarbonization, in many instances the payback period and/or increased electric charges are not financially beneficial to the customer.”
Xcel is looking to recover the following level of NGIA costs from rate payers:
- $54,334,960 spend between 2025 and 2029, with 94% pilots, 5% R&D and 1% admin;
- $981,881 has been spent in 2025, with 91% pilots, 3% R&D and 6% admin;
- 2027 has the largest anticipated spend of $18,363,124, with 91% pilots and 9% R&D.
Xcel is seeking to monetize their NGIA spending, through rate increases in natural gas tariffs for all customer classes, to take effect from January 1, 2027 as follows:
- Residential: 6% increase from $0.017214 to $0.018269 per therm;
- Commercial Firm: 9% decrease from $0.010520 to $0.009594 per therm;
- Commercial Demand Billed: 408% increase from $0.001194 to $0.006063 per therm;
- Interruptible: 142% increase from $0.006601 to $0.015966 per therm.
NGIA conclusion
Minnesota is now into the fifth year of a long-term plan to effectively ban the use of natural gas for most homes and businesses. This plan is called the Natural Gas Innovation Act or NGIA, which was signed into law by Governor Walz in 2021. Residential electricity prices are already 438% more expensive than natural gas ones. NGIA promises to make this far worse!
