St. Paul – On Thursday, Senator David Senjem (R-Rochester) presented his bill, Senate File 1018 on the Senate floor. 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, 2021. The bill provides $15 million from the General Fund for zero-interest loans that need to be repaid within five years.

“This is aimed to help those hardest it during the natural gas spike,” Senjem said. “If you’re expecting a bill that’s usually $100 and it comes up to $400, many individuals will have a hard time paying for it; especially those hit hardest during the pandemic. This helps to continue the conversation on how we need to view and treat energy issues that arise in our state.”

Due to varying factors from the polar vortex that occurred from February 12-17, the price of natural gas had an unprecedented price surge for Texas and all the Midwest. 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 the natural gas.

During these five days, 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.

Senate File 1018 was passed off the Senate floor unanimously.