The BlackRock Situation Just Got Worse
September 23, 2025
Another Wall Street Power Grab for Essential Services
More Perfect Union released a new video breaking down BlackRock’s attempted takeover of Minnesota Power — and why communities, workers, and ratepayers should be concerned. The video highlights the risks of handing control of essential services to the world’s largest asset manager, featuring voices from Minnesota and lifting up PESP’s research.
One line from the video captures the core problem:
“Just because your bill doesn’t say BlackRock Power doesn’t mean they don’t get your money.”
PESP’s Climate and Energy Director, Alissa Jean Schafer, explained how private equity ownership has already harmed utility customers elsewhere:
“If we look at Northern Michigan, there’s a utility called the Upper Peninsula Power Company or UPPCO. This was acquired by a private equity firm in 2014. After the private equity firm took it over, shortly thereafter, they raised the bills. A couple of years later, bills went up again. Then that private equity firm sold it to a different private equity firm. Once the new private equity owners were in control, they raised bills again. Since 2014, UPPCO, being owned by private equity, has seen four bill hikes.”
She warned that Minnesota could face the same fate — not just higher bills, but cuts that hurt service and safety:
“In addition to potentially raising customers’ bills, they might be looking for ways to cut costs. This could look like reduction in the job force. It could look at, like, reduction in operation and maintenance.”
Alissa also underlined why Wall Street firms like BlackRock are so eager to buy utilities in the first place:
“Utilities in regulated states such as Minnesota, have a captive rate base. They have captive customers. Having a group of customers that have nowhere else to turn for access to electricity, that is a very attractive financial proposition.”
Finally, she connected the Minnesota fight to the explosive growth of AI and data center investments — another arena where private equity and Wall Street investors are racing for control:
“It appears that BlackRock is moving very aggressively to insert themselves at just about every angle of the supply chain when it comes to AI and data centers. And that includes everything from the data center development itself to the computer software, computer hardware, and now with this move into local utility companies, possibly even the power company that would be powering those data centers.”
The MPU video underscores what communities have been saying all along: working Americans and their communities can’t afford to gamble their future on Wall Street’s short-term profit model. With the final hearings on the sale approaching, the stakes could not be higher.
👉 Watch the full More Perfect Union video here:
