On Thursday, the Minnesota Senate passed Senate File 1018. This bipartisan legislation establishes a 2021 Polar Vortex Loan Account for municipal utilities that purchased natural gas during the extreme weather that occurred this February. The bill provides $15 million from the General Fund for zero-interest loans that need to be repaid within five years.

“Without this legislation, many Minnesotans will see a massive spike in their gas bill,” said Senator Eichorn. “I am pleased we in the Senate could move quickly to put a package together to preemptively provide desperately needed relief to Northern Minnesota families. Many folks are already struggling and adding an unexpected gas bill, potentially ten times higher than normal, might make or break some families.”   

Due to a variety of factors stemming from the polar vortex that occurred in February; the price of natural gas has had an unprecedented price surge throughout much of the nation. In Minnesota, all natural gas utilities were hit by this price surge while also coinciding with a cold snap, meaning consumers were using more and paying a higher rate for natural gas.

During one five day stretch, some utilities spent their entire gas purchasing budget for the year. The residential impact range is estimated from $250-$500 for a typical residence for those five days alone. For businesses, an example was given where one business that typically spends $12,500 a month on gas could be facing a bill of $125,000 due to the spike.

The Polar Vortex Loan Account would grant municipal utilities the option to help pay their bills now and to spread consumer payments out over the five-year repayment term and could greatly reduce the impact on both the utility and the consumers.