Minnesota Cooperatives Win at Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
On October 5, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) permitted Conexus Energy to replace distribution line located underneath tracks owned by BNSF Railway for only “reasonable and necessary” traffic and flagging expenses, rejecting BNSF’s 52 requirements and request for hearing. The ruling was the first test of a railway crossing law by an electric coop before the MPUC after the Minnesota Rural Electric Association fought to curtail railroads’ costly impediments to right-of-way work.