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10.b Proposed Letters to Xcel Management14727 209 th St. N., Scandia, Minnesota 55073 Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.cityofscandia.com October 19, 2022 Christopher B. Clark Xcel Energy President - Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota The Scandia City Council is concerned about the capacity issues at Xcel’s electrical feeder/substation SCA021 preventing Scandia residents from connecting planned residential rooftop solar projects to Xcel’s grid. Adding future distribution-scale solar farms to the existing eleven in Scandia is controversial, and we are seeking public input on the issue. However, what Scandia homeowners seek to install on their property at their own expense is not controversial. More solar power projects, even small ones, can only help ease the transition to the clean-energy future that Xcel, the Public Utilities Commission, and Minnesotans say they want. We strongly support the efforts of Scandia residents to deploy solar projects at their homes, and we urge Xcel Energy to clear the obstacles so they may do so as soon as possible. In one case, a Scandia household was told by Xcel this summer that there were 16 projects ahead of them in the queue for connection to feeder/substation SCA021 and that Xcel had the legal right to take up to 240 days to review each applicant. This could mean a wait of more than ten years to connect to Xcel’s grid! This information came via email with no warning, three months after the customers had signed a contract to install panels on their homes. They had also spent $2,000 to take down several trees to open up rooftop access for the panels. Xcel subsequently emailed the homeowners that there was, in fact, no capacity at the substation, that increasing capacity could cost an excess of $1 million, and that “cost-causation” rules mean whichever customer’s connection triggered the need for capacity would be liable for that extra $1 million—plus! That “take it or leave it” attitude is strikingly at odds with Xcel’s public promotion of clean energy and is not what we expect from our city’s corporate partners. We understand that the transition to clean energy will not be quick or easy. Major utilities' large solar and wind projects provide more bang than small, individual rooftop projects. But small projects also are part of the solution and are essential to Scandia residents. As a council, we are concerned about our residents losing out on government subsidies and grants to build residential solar. Xcel must act quickly to clear up its backlog of projects in Scandia. As Scandia’s City Council, we need to know how many Xcel substations are in Scandia, each capacity, and how much capacity remains available. 14727 209 th St. N., Scandia, Minnesota 55073 Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.cityofscandia.com We are calling on Xcel to provide Scandia’s City Council with a plan to add capacity to Scandia Substation SCA021 and a time frame to implement that plan. We also need to know how many homes in Scandia are affected by SCA21’s full capacity and a map of the affected area. Please respond in writing to Scandia’s City Council within 30 days of this letter. Respectfully yours, Scandia City Council CC: Valerie Means, Commissioner, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Matt Schuerger, Commissioner, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Katie Sieben, Chair, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Joseph Sullivan, Vice Chair, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission John Tuma, Commissioner, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission 14727 209 th St. N., Scandia, Minnesota 55073 Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.cityofscandia.com October 19, 2022 Frank Pager Xcel Energy Senior Vice President, Strategy, Security and External Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer The Scandia City Council is concerned about the capacity issues at Xcel’s electrical feeder/substation SCA021 preventing Scandia residents from connecting planned residential rooftop solar projects to Xcel’s grid. Adding future distribution-scale solar farms to the existing eleven in Scandia is controversial, and we are seeking public input on the issue. However, what Scandia homeowners seek to install on their property at their own expense is not controversial. More solar power projects, even small ones, can only help ease the transition to the clean-energy future that Xcel, the Public Utilities Commission, and Minnesotans say they want. We strongly support the efforts of Scandia residents to deploy solar projects at their homes, and we urge Xcel Energy to clear the obstacles so they may do so as soon as possible. In one case, a Scandia household was told by Xcel this summer that there were 16 projects ahead of them in the queue for connection to feeder/substation SCA021 and that Xcel had the legal right to take up to 240 days to review each applicant. This could mean a wait of more than ten years to connect to Xcel’s grid! This information came via email with no warning, three months after the customers had signed a contract to install panels on their homes. They had also spent $2,000 to take down several trees to open up rooftop access for the panels. Xcel subsequently emailed the homeowners that there was, in fact, no capacity at the substation, that increasing capacity could cost an excess of $1 million, and that “cost-causation” rules mean whichever customer’s connection triggered the need for capacity would be liable for that extra $1 million—plus! That “take it or leave it” attitude is strikingly at odds with Xcel’s public promotion of clean energy and is not what we expect from our city’s corporate partners. We understand that the transition to clean energy will not be quick or easy. Major utilities' large solar and wind projects provide more bang than small, individual rooftop projects. But small projects also are part of the solution and are important to Scandia residents. As a council, we are concerned about our residents losing out on government subsidies and grants to build residential solar. Xcel must act quickly to clear up its backlog of projects in Scandia. As Scandia’s City Council, we need to know how many substations are in Scandia, each capacity, and how much capacity remains available. 14727 209 th St. N., Scandia, Minnesota 55073 Phone (651) 433 -2274 Fax (651) 433 -5112 http://www.cityofscandia.com We are calling on Xcel to provide Scandia’s City Council with a plan to add capacity to Scandia Substation SCA021 and a time frame to implement that plan. We also need to know how many homes in Scandia are affected by SCA21’s full capacity and a map of the affected area. Please respond in writing within 30 days of this letter. Respectfully yours, Scandia City Council CC: Valerie Means, Commissioner, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Matt Schuerger, Commissioner, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Katie Sieben, Chair, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Joseph Sullivan, Vice Chair, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission John Tuma, Commissioner, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission