Minnesota's state watchdog agency dings utilities commission on dealings with public

Jul 28, 20200

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune count

A Public Utilities Commission meeting on the proposed Enbridge pipeline in 2018 that had a full room of both advocates and opponents of the project.

The state's internal watchdog ripped the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for at times being inconsistent and opaque in dealings with the public, particularly on a controversial new $2.6 billion oil pipeline proposed by Enbridge.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a report Monday on the PUC's process for public participation, finding myriad shortcomings - including a historical lack of outreach to Minnesota Indian tribes - and making several recommendations.

One of those is for the PUC, which regulates the energy and telecommunications industries, to improve basic communications.

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-state-watchdog-agency-dings-utilities-commission-on-dealings-with-public/571919972/