MN Reformer op-ed: Gov. Walz with Minnesotans or with BlackRock?

Does Gov. Walz stand with Minnesotans or with BlackRock?

If Minnesota Power falls into BlackRock’s hands, higher bills, less accountability, and broken promises could be part of the governor’s legacy

The following op-ed by PESP climate and energy director Alissa Jean Schafer published in October in Minnesota Reformer:

As governor, Tim Walz has passed a range of progressive policies to benefit the people of Minnesota. He signed the state’s landmark law requiring carbon-free power by 2040, a measure meant to put Minnesotans first in the clean energy transition.

But if the governor’s own Public Utilities Commission signs off on Wall Street giant BlackRock’s attempted takeover of Allete and Minnesota Power, the decision could undercut his legacy, his promises, and the very communities he represents.

All five PUC commissioners are Walz appointees. A Department of Commerce representative, part of his administration, has seemingly been shown — through records obtained by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project — to be communicating with a handful of “clean energy” groups that filed last-minute comments in support of the deal.

At the most recent PUC hearing, Commissioner Audrey Partridge — a Walz appointee and former employee of one of those groups — gave them a platform to speak in support of BlackRock’s proposed deal, while requests from ordinary Minnesotans were ignored. This is after an independent investigation found that one of these very “clean energy” groups now backing the BlackRock takeover have accepted industry-linked funding — including money raised at a fundraiser supported by Allete itself and counsel for the private equity firm buyer. According to CURE MN, members of the public had submitted requests to testify at this same hearing but were denied.

Given these actions, are Walz’s appointees tilting the process toward BlackRock instead of the public they are supposed to serve?

The facts on the record are damning. In her report, Administrative Law Judge Megan McKenzie recommended denial of the BlackRock deal, finding it not in the public interest and likely to result in rate increases to MN Power customers. Approving it could mean higher electric bills, less transparency, and a less stable grid.

For Indigenous communities, accusations of BlackRock’s record on Indigenous issues offers a troubling preview of what’s to come in Minnesota. In South Texas, for example, BlackRock and its subsidiary GIP are backing the Rio Grande LNG terminal, which members of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe say will be built on their ancestral land.

This BlackRock deal could hinder Minnesota’s 2040 carbon-free mandate, since there’s no requirement that BlackRock advance this clean energy vision. As the administrative law judge concluded, the petitioners have not shown the acquisition is necessary to meet the state’s clean energy goals.

BlackRock’s hand-picked spokesperson at the September PUC hearing, Jonathan Bram, claimed he would be “personally devastated” if Minnesota Power failed under his watch.

Yet during his time as a board member, SunPower collapsed into bankruptcy in August 2024, citing erroneous financials that rendered the company unable to secure financing.

PESP documented Bram’s oversight failures in expert testimony and follow-up research. That is the track record Walz’s PUC is being asked to believe in. Commissioner Joe Sullivan literally characterized it as a leap of faith in the hearing.

This is Walz’s decision. If the PUC approves BlackRock’s takeover, it will be his commissioners who rubber-stamped it. It will be his Department of Commerce that greased the skids. And it will be his constituents who pay the price — in higher bills, diminished accountability, and a utility no longer owned by the people it serves.

The PUC commissioners are supposed to protect the Minnesota public. The public, numerous experts, and the state administrative law judge are telling them this deal is bad for Minnesota.

Minnesotans should ask: Will Walz stand with you? Or with BlackRock?

With the final PUC hearing and decision scheduled for October 3, that deadline now belongs to the governor.

Find the full op-ed in Minnesota Reformer here.

Alissa Jean Schafer is climate and energy director at Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit watchdog group focused on the impacts of private firms on people and the planet.