Minnesota Department of Public Service v. Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

OPINION

STRINGER, Justice.

At issue here is whether the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) had the authority to order rate recovery from Interstate Power Company’s (Interstate) current natural gas customers for cleanup costs of two former manufactured gas plant sites not currently used or useful for the provision of utility service. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) recommended that Interstate be allowed to recover one-half of the cleanup costs from its current natural gas customers. The MPUC affirmed the findings and conclusions of the ALJ, but modified the recommendation to provide…