Laserfiche WebLink
/I//I%V~ <br />Position Statement <br />municipals to `freeze' service territories, or resort to <br />lengthy, expensive action before the Minnesota Public <br />Utflitiea Commission or before the district courts. <br />There is growing evidence that this is a coordinated <br />attempt not only to obstruct municipal growth, but to <br />enable cooperative acquisition of municipal utilities. <br />We estimate that, over the peat few years, Minnesota <br />cooperatives received at least $2 million from the <br />"service territory integrity fund" of the National Rural <br />Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC), a national fund <br />expressly created to prevent municipal utilities from <br />growing with their cities. <br />Efforts to Negotiate <br />Municipal electric utilities have made three recent <br />efforts to find a compromise with electric cooperatives <br />on the service territory issue-as part of discussions <br />concerning industry restructuring in 1998, an effort at <br />mediation in 2001 and a joint task force that met in the <br />Spring and Summer of 2008. <br />The moat recent attempt nearly bore fruit. The <br />two aides reached agreement on 18 of 20 issues <br />identified by MMUA, with only two minor issues <br />remaining. Unfortunately, the cooperatives suspended <br />the negotiations before complete agreement was <br />reached. Since the negotiations concluded, a number <br />of municipals and co-ope have entered into service <br />territory agreements that follow the "template" that was <br />developed through the negotiation process. <br />MMUA Position <br />Municipal utilities cannot forego the essential right to <br />grow with our cities, which has been recognized since the <br />inception of the industry more than one hundred years <br />ago. We remain willing to work with others to make <br />the law easier to administer for all parties, by adding a <br />formula, based on the 2008 negotiations, to state law Aa <br />custodians of our citizens' rights, cities and municipal <br />utilities insist that the right to grow with our cities <br />be affirmed. If necessary, this affirmation should be <br />established by legislative action. <br />2011 State Position Statements / 11 <br />