{"id":834,"date":"2025-07-25T21:56:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T21:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/?p=834"},"modified":"2025-09-22T12:10:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T12:10:20","slug":"minnesota-regulators-back-prairies-edge-casino-in-outrageous-power-cut-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/minnesota-regulators-back-prairies-edge-casino-in-outrageous-power-cut-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Regulators Back Prairie\u2019s Edge Casino in \u2018Outrageous\u2019 Power Cut Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>State regulators back tribe in solar power showdown.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Casino solar array triggers utility shutdown threat.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Regulator warns co-op may lose service rights entirely.<\/strong><br \/>\n<hr \/>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em>A Minnesota utility company\u2019s threat to pull the plug on the Prairie\u2019s Edge Casino Resort if its owner, the Upper Sioux Community, activates a new solar panel system has been slammed by state regulators.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_358404\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-358404\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO wp-image-358404 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota Valley Cooperative, Prairie\u2019s Edge Casino, solar energy dispute, tribal sovereignty\" width=\"858\" height=\"503\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Prairies-Edge-858x503-1.jpg\"><figcaption>A rural utility in Minnesota is threatening to cut the power at Prairie\u2019s Edge Casino Resort, which would spell curtains for this cheeseburger advertisement. But more seriously, it could also endanger people who rely on air conditioning or medical devices, and state regulators are incensed. (Image: Prairie\u2019s Edge Casino)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light and Power Association, a small utility that serves western parts the state, says the tribe\u2019s solar array, at 2.5 megawatts, vastly exceeds the 40-kilowatt limit Minnesota Valley allows. It has threatened to cut off power to the casino if it turns the system on.<\/p>\n<p>But the Upper Sioux say the system won\u2019t feed electricity back into the grid, it will only serve the casino, meaning the utility\u2019s rules shouldn\u2019t apply, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.startribune.com\/minnesota-regulators-bash-electric-co-op-for-threatening-to-shut-off-tribal-casinos-power\/601423117\"><em>The Minnesota Star Tribune<\/em> reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tribe Asserts Energy Rights<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The tribe had the multimillion-dollar solar array built to lower electricity bills and promote clean energy, and they believe it will supply around 30% of the casino\u2019s power needs.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota Valley is a rural electric cooperative \u2013 a nonprofit utility owned by its members, typically serving areas that larger, for-profit energy companies don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>These cooperatives are common across the US in places with low population density. Minnesota Valley says it has rules, which are based on state and federal law, that limit how big a solar system can be if it connects to its power lines. But the tribe argues that it\u2019s a sovereign nation and, as such, is not subject to Minnesota\u2019s utility laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>It brought its complaint to the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which at a July 24 hearing sided unanimously with the tribe. Commissioners even threatened to take away the co-op\u2019s right to serve the Upper Sioux altogether, possibly replacing it with a larger provider such as Xcel Energy.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Regulators Push Back <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Several commissioners pointed out that cutting power to a public facility, even a casino, could endanger people who rely on air conditioning or medical devices. Commissioner Joe Sullivan called the utility\u2019s move \u201coutrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another, Audrey Partridge, said the co-op had \u201clost [its] tether to the purpose of an electric utility, adding that it was \u201cits privilege to serve\u201d its members, rather than \u201cbe adversarial and unreasonable to them,\u201d as reported by the Star Tribune.<\/p>\n<p>Republican commissioner John Tuma asked whether Minnesota Valley felt it \u201chad a\u00a0patent on electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p>That\u2019s what it sounds like \u2026 and if these guys go ahead and produce some electricity behind the scenes, they can\u2019t do it unless they come and ask your blessing to use it?\u201d he asked. \u201cNo, you have a duty to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The PUC voted 4-0 to investigate the matter and asked the state\u2019s legal team to take steps to prevent the co-op from shutting off electricity while the issue is reviewed.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/minnesota-regulators-back-tribal-casino-in-outrageous-power-cut-threat\/\">Minnesota Regulators Back Prairie\u2019s Edge Casino in \u2018Outrageous\u2019 Power Cut Threat<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State regulators back tribe in solar power showdown. Casino solar array triggers utility shutdown threat. Regulator warns co-op may lose service rights entirely. \u00a0A Minnesota utility company\u2019s threat to pull the plug on the Prairie\u2019s Edge Casino Resort if its owner, the Upper Sioux Community, activates a new solar panel system has been slammed by state regulators. A rural utility [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":837,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions\/837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.chuckwardrealestate.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}