For more than a century, Minnesota Power has powered Northeastern Minnesota, providing essential, reliable electric service to the homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, and industries of our region. We’ve weathered the inherent volatility of the public markets and navigated the cycles unique to northern Minnesota’s natural resources-based economy, while never wavering in our commitment to the customers and communities we’re privileged to serve.

I’m proud Minnesota Power has transformed to lead the state in providing nearly 60% renewable energy to customers, with near-perfect reliability and the lowest total bills in the state.

Now, we are facing another transformation: Minnesota’s carbon-free-electricity-by-2040 standard. Continuing our work to meet this standard, while providing safe and reliable service, means we will need to raise more capital in the next five years than we have over the last 75 years. The scale of investment ahead of Minnesota Power is unlike anything we’ve experienced in the past.

This is why we chose to partner with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). With these long-term, experienced infrastructure investors, we are choosing the path that allows Minnesota Power to continue to be the locally managed, customer-focused company you have known for decades, to provide the service our customers expect, and to be a force for good in the communities we serve.

Over the past 16 months, the proposed acquisition by CPPIB and GIP has been approved by Allete’s current shareholders, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. We are now nearing the end of Minnesota’s robust regulatory process.

As part of that process, I attended the public hearings throughout our region, and it was clear to me that every person — whether supporting or opposing the proposed acquisition — came from a place of truly caring about the future of our company and the essential services we provide.

Every voice has mattered to us throughout this process. We have listened carefully to the concerns raised and worked earnestly to address them. And, while there may continue to be disagreement by some, that work is captured in a landmark settlement with the Minnesota Department of Commerce that also has the support of a strong and diverse coalition, including organized labor, businesses, clean-energy organizations, and low-income customer advocates.

The settlement agreement includes more than 70 individual commitments to help contain customer rates, ensure our quality of service remains unchanged, and guarantee the capital we need for the clean-energy transition. It also offers a historic, first-ever $50 million fund by which our investors will support the development of emerging, clean, firm technology, as well as the opportunity to eliminate arrears balances for customers behind on their electric bills.

If approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission this fall, we will remain headquartered in Duluth, led by the same team, with the same values-based commitment to serving our customers and communities. Minnesota Power will remain fully regulated by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which will continue to assess and decide long-term plans, individual projects, and any changes to customers’ electric rates.

It has taken more than a century to build and refine the electric grid that powers our lives today. Transforming by 2040 to reduce carbon emissions, reliably transmit renewable energy across long distances, and ensure resiliency in the face of increasingly extreme weather conditions will not be easy. But that is often true of the things most worth doing, and this transformation is worth doing — together.

As the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission considers the acquisition of Allete, I am proud of the path we have chosen with responsible investors who are aligned with our values, support our strategy, and look longer-term than the quarter-to-quarter expectations of the public market today. I am equally proud of our close collaboration with stakeholders to identify firm, enforceable commitments that strengthen the benefits to our customers and communities.

This partnership will help Minnesota Power achieve our collective energy goals for a bright and truly sustainable future while building on the strong legacy that has made our company so special to so many for more than a century.

Bethany Owen is chair and CEO of Allete, the parent company of Duluth-based Minnesota Power.

Contributed/Minnesota Power