ST. PAUL – The House on Wednesday approved an omnibus energy package which Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, said pumps the brakes on the Democrats’ unaffordable, unreliable and unsafe approach to energy the last two years.
The bill (H.F. 2442) holds flat the energy section of the state’s next two-year budget. It spends $51.4 million in Fiscal Years 2026-27, the same as current spending shown in the state’s February economic forecast.
Swedzinski chairs the House committee on energy. He said the bill notably contains no new energy policy.
“This bill does not push further toward the DFL’s unrealistic climate goals and it does not spend any more money on the DFL’s pet energy projects,” Swedzinski said. “While I would have liked to have gone further by unwinding some of the bad ideas Democrats enacted with full control of the Capitol the last two years, this bill stops their extreme agenda from expanding even further. That’s a big accomplishment, especially in a divided House.”
Swedzinski said the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator already has reported a capacity shortfall, indicating Minnesota already doesn’t have enough reliable power-plant capacity online to meet expected peak electricity demand. Swedzinski added that MISO warnings of capacity shortfalls for peak periods will become more commonplace if our state continues to rely more on intermittent, weather-dependent energy sources as House Democrats propose.
“We’ve already seen states such as California take a more liberal approach to energy only to suffer rationed power and cannot afford to undermine our own power grid,” Swedzinski said. “We need a more commons-sense plan, where nuclear, coal, natural gas, wind, and solar all play an important role in keeping our energy grid diverse, reliable and affordable. That’s where our energy focus needs to be, instead of blindly following policies that have failed elsewhere.”
The bill passed 121-12 and now awaits action in the Senate before a conference committee can form to prepare it for a vote on final passage.
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