Minnesota Senate Media Services
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Session Update: No-Interest Loan Account to Offset Natural Gas Price Spike
Posted
March 25, 2021
Views
63
March 25, 2021
63
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8:50Now PlayingMunicipal utilities would soon be able to access no-interest loans to cover the extraordinarily high natural gas costs that stemmed from the February polar vortex under a measure passed unanimously by the Senate Thursday, March 25. Senator David Senjem, R-Rochester, author of SF 1018, said the establishment of the funding account is urgently needed to assist municipal utilities in paying their natural gas suppliers.
The measure would create a $15 million Polar Vortex Loan Account with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, providing access to interest-free, five-year loans for municipal utilities. Senjem said that half of the state’s 32 municipal utilities are in need of financing assistance to cover the unexpectedly high costs. Senjem explained that gas companies typically buy 75% of their natural gas in advance and 25% in the spot market. Prior to the extreme February cold snap, the cost of natural gas was roughly $3-per-dekatherm, while during the storm, the costs rose as high as $231-per-dekatherm.
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