'Catchment area' climate and energy agreements between the city of Minneapolis and CenterPoint Energy

In a groundbreaking agreement announced earlier this year work serve Minneapolis, MN CenterPoint Energy - gas utility with the city of Minneapolis 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2025. The agreement, negotiated with the grassroots campaign Minneapolis energy options, secures the support of gas utility for a wide variety of measures, clean to promote affordable and local energy.

The memorandum of understanding signed before the city franchise contract renegotiations with CenterPoint next year includes to maximise the impact of the efforts of the State utility charged conservation program, track building energy use and methane leakage, maintain renewable heat technologies and to improve equity in education and setting.

"It is a turning point for natural gas utilities and cities," said John Farrell, Director of the Institute for local self reliance democratic energy program and Chairman of the Steering Committee of Minneapolis energy options. "It is a model for cities in the United States their energy future take over, and it was only possible with a dedicated grass-roots campaign."

For the past year, the City Council has to put municipalization of the gas and electricity on the ballot in the autumn of 2013 in Minneapolis power options, printing was. Already the campaign incited efforts the city to a $250,000-energy-way study meant to finance, air, renewable energies and economic aims to explore the strategies to deal with the city, up to and including municipally owned utilities.

With the signed memo to intensify pressure on the city power company - Xcel Energy - drops with CenterPoint. Xcel already suffers a defeat in the elections in Boulder, CO, public in the year 2011 to a municipal grid mainly due to her refusal to make a similar commitment to local electricity generation from renewable energy sources and conservation. Xcel authored a weak letter to the city in August promised to do for the city largely what it brings, is under Minnesota Law, and to do nothing more. It generates an appropriately skeptical response of the Mayor). Find more about this essay, what it is and what is possible.

CenterPoint Energy has begun, the city climate challenges. It remains to be seen whether the utility which gets seat Minneapolis future will show a similar commitment to a local, clean energy for Minneapolis.

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