Minnesota Regulator Orders Electric Utilities to File Wildfire Mitigation Plans

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on July 31 directed the state’s four rate-regulated electric utilities to develop standalone Wildfire Mitigation Plans, concluding that wildfire planning warrants greater regulatory attention as climate conditions elevate fire risk. Dakota Electric Association, Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power Company, and Xcel Energy must file a plan by Feb. 1, 2027. The requirement follows the commission’s review of the utilities’ 2025 Integrated Distribution Plans, which currently include wildfire-related information but do not provide a dedicated framework for evaluating long-term mitigation strategies.

By moving wildfire planning into separate proceedings, the commission aims to improve transparency and allow for a more comprehensive review of how utilities identify, manage, and reduce wildfire risk. The standalone filings also are expected to give communities, local officials, and other stakeholders greater visibility into utility preparedness while creating a consistent regulatory process for tracking future mitigation efforts.

The plans must include updated wildfire risk maps, explain the methodologies utilities use to identify and prioritize high-risk areas, and provide historical data on wildfire incidents, wildfire-related outages, outage durations, and the performance of existing mitigation measures. Utilities also must outline any public safety power shutoff programs, describe customer notification procedures, identify protections for customers who depend on medically necessary electric service, and detail how they will communicate with the public before, during, and after wildfire events. Community education programs designed to help reduce local wildfire risk must also be included.

The commission clarified that its review of wildfire mitigation plans does not authorize recovery of wildfire-related costs. Any investments associated with wildfire mitigation must be reviewed in a future rate proceeding, where utilities will be required to demonstrate that the proposed expenditures are reasonable and prudent before recovering those costs from customers.

The action builds on Minnesota’s broader effort to strengthen wildfire resilience. In May, the commission convened utilities and national wildfire experts to examine emerging risks, utility response strategies, and industry best practices, while also contributing guidance to a national wildfire planning resource for state regulators. Once the plans are filed in 2027, each proceeding will include an opportunity for public comment before the commission determines whether additional regulatory action is warranted.