General Information
Americans with Disabilities Act/Reasonable Accommodations Requests
The Commission hearing rooms are accessible. If other reasonable accommodations are needed to enable you to fully participate in a Commission meeting (i.e., sign language interpreter or large print materials), please email request or call the Commission at least one week in advance of the meeting at 651.296.0406 (voice) or through the Minnesota Relay service at 711 or 1.800.627.3529.
To read Portable Document Format documents in this site (marked pdf), you will need to download the free Acrobat Reader or get the free Accessible Acrobat Reader which supports screen-readers.
Attending A Public Hearing
Public hearings provide companies an opportunity to present proposals to their customers and explain why they believe their proposed services, rates or practices are appropriate. A public hearing also gives the general public an opportunity to present their opinions and comment on the proposal. Public hearings are typically presided over by an Administrative Law Judge who summarizes all comments received at the hearing and presents that summary to the Public Utilities Commission for consideration.
Public hearing notices can be published as bill inserts, separate mailings and in newspapers and other media outlets. No formal invitation or sign-up is required to attend public hearings. The Judge presiding over the hearing will call upon any members of the public that wishes to provide their opinion. Members of the general public do not need a lawyer to attend or make comment at a public hearing. Remember, the reason for the public hearing is to hear what YOU have to say. Please see the Commission’s calendar for upcoming hearings.
Briefing Papers
Briefing papers are available on the website one week prior to an Agenda Meeting and indefinitely after a meeting. To access briefing papers, open the Agenda meeting you are interested in from our Homepage Calendar and select to print the briefing papers you are seeking. The Commission routinely makes available to the public two hard copies of Commission briefing and discussion materials presented to Commissioners in formal hearings. Those materials are available only for use within the hearing room. Individuals who wish to obtain their own copy of these materials can do so by retriving a copy from eDockets (see Search eDockets on our Homepage) or calling 651.296-0406. To ensure that copies will be ready in time for a meeting, notice should be provided at least 24 hours in advance. Upon request, parties to formal proceedings will receive one free copy of briefing materials; the charge for all other copies is 25 cents per page.
On March 27, 2007, Governor Pawlenty signed into Minnesota Law Senate File 1294 (Minnesota Laws 2007, Chapter 10) requiring electronic filing. Affected parties must comply with this requirement no later than January 1, 2008.
Please note that the eDockets/eFiling System may include documents that are not part of the official record for purposes of Minn. Stat. § 14.66 and Minn. R. Civ. App. 110.01 and 115.04, such as Commission minutes, notices and agendas.
Hearing Rooms
The Commission hearing rooms are equipped with multimedia technology utilizing laptop, audio, document camera, dvd/vcr player, touchscreen annotation monitor and large flatscreens for audience viewing ease. Complementary audio and video webcast services are currently available and archived for up to six months.
All hearing rooms meet accessibility standards. If other reasonable accommodations are needed to enable you to fully participate in a Commission meeting (i.e., sign language) please email request or call 651.296-0406 (voice) or through the Minnesota Relay service at 711 or 1.800.627.3529 at least one week in advance of the meeting.
The Commission's Large Hearing Room is equipped with audio connection jacks for recording Commission hearings. The jacks are built into the floor to ceiling front and rear columns nearest the hallway. The jacks are on the side of the columns facing away from the door of the hearing room.
Holidays Observed
State Offices are closed on the following Holidays:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Presidents Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
If a holiday falls on a Saturday, State Offices are closed on the preceding Friday. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, State Offices are closed the following Monday.
Hours
Commission hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Visitors to the Commission should sign the register and the receptionist will announce your arrival to the individual you are here to see. Consumer mediators are available by telephone from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm daily to assist consumers with complaints or inquiries.
Meeting Notices
Meeting announcements and agendas are posted on the Commission's Calendar. Meetings are posted on the bulletin board located on the wall outside the Commission's Large Hearing Room. The Calendar will be updated as meetings are added, rescheduled or canceled.
Audio recordings of proceedings where a transcript is not needed are archived a minimum of six months and available to the public by selecting Webcast Archives under Links on the Commission's home webpage. Webcast recordings are also available for purchase at $10.00 per proceeding. When requesting an audio recording, please indicate the date of the meeting, docket number, mailing address, contact name and a daytime phone number. Please allow up to three days to process requests for audio recordings.
To request a written transcript, please contact Shaddix & Associates If a transcript has not already been prepared, the requesting party will be responsible for paying the cost of the original transcript, which includes a copy for that party. Parties requesting a written transcript from tape recordings of meetings already conducted will be responsible for paying for copies of the meetings tapes, and the cost of the original transcript, which includes the party's copy.
General service lists consist of persons desiring to receive notice of particular types of filings and who are qualified to intervene under Minnesota Rules, Chapter 7829. Official service lists for each proceeding consists of the names of the parties and participants who have filed a written request for inclusion on the service list with the Commission. The Commission establishes the official service list at the conclusion of the initial comment period. Please see Minnesota Rules, Chapter 7829 for detailed information regarding service lists.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates three cornerstone service industries in Minnesota's economy, i.e., electricity, natural gas, and telephone. It is the Commission's responsibility to ensure that vendors of these services provide safe, adequate, and reliable service at fair, reasonable rates (M.S. Chapters 216A, 216B, 216E, 216F, 216G and 237).