Minnesota utility regulators are facing fresh questions over a taxpayer-funded trip to Puerto Rico for an annual conference that was sponsored in part by trade groups representing the very companies the commission regulates. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has said the event was educational and that it followed state ethics rules, while the trade groups involved declined to say how much they paid to sponsor it or what that money bought.
According to KSTP, the American Gas Association and Edison Electric Institute both sponsored the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners conference in Puerto Rico, but neither group would disclose how much it paid into the event or what the sponsorship bought. The station reported that NARUC's 2025 sponsorship materials listed levels ranging from $6,000 up to a minimum of $50,000, with perks that included video and social media recognition, exclusive branding — including on attendees' lanyards — display tables, and special recognition at coffee networking breaks.
Those same 2025 materials, per KSTP's reporting, linked larger sponsorship payments to a longer list of benefits. NARUC's own 2026 conference agenda, posted on the organization's website, lists a networking breakfast with a hot buffet sponsored by Edison Electric Institute, and includes a session on microgrids and critical-facility resilience in Puerto Rico.
Founded in 1889, NARUC represents state public-service commissions that regulate essential services, including energy and telecommunications. Its posted 2026 sponsorship policy says sponsors must not be entities regulated by a NARUC member commission or their affiliates, and calls for full disclosure of sponsors and the functions they fund. The policy sets out NARUC’s current conference standards; Minnesota’s rules separately govern what individual commissioners and employees may accept.
Xcel's Ties to Both Sponsoring Trade Groups
Xcel Energy, which operates across an eight-state footprint, is a member of Edison Electric Institute and holds a seat on the American Gas Association's board of directors, KSTP reported. The utility told the station that four of its leaders attended the conference, with one serving as a panel participant, and said its participation lets the company learn from others and share its own experience with customers and communities.
Xcel said conference-related costs are reviewed through the regulatory process and are not automatically recovered from customers, and that its company code of conduct and state commission communication rules govern how it interacts with regulators. The company added that it does not discuss pending rate cases or other contested matters outside the formal on-the-record process. The utility also noted that the Puerto Rico utility is part of Xcel's mutual aid network, and that Xcel sent crews to the territory to help restore power after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017.
The timing has drawn scrutiny because the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission recently approved increased natural gas and electric rates for Xcel, per the same KSTP report, putting regulators who attended an industry-sponsored conference in the position of also setting the rates customers pay for that same company's service.
The commission’s role is not limited to approving rate changes: Minnesota’s PUC sets rates and service terms for investor-owned electric and natural-gas utilities, including Xcel. Under the state’s regulatory compact, utilities can seek recovery of reasonable investment costs and a fair return, while the commission is charged with protecting consumers and ensuring just and reasonable rates. Commissioners make decisions on a formal public record.
Commission Defends Educational Value
PUC Vice Chair Joseph Sullivan told KSTP that the events are educational and that the commission completely abides by its ethical standards. Chair Katie Sieben, who also serves on NARUC's board of directors as first vice president, said commissioners follow state ethics rules and do not engage in prohibited conversations or discussions, the station reported.
The commission said in response to KSTP that NARUC event participation complies with Minnesota ethics laws, state travel requirements and commission policies, and that commissioners and staff must comply with the commission's code of conduct, state ethics laws and ex parte communication rules. The PUC added that its decisions are based on the record in individual proceedings and applicable law, and that safeguards preserve the independence of its regulatory decision-making. The commission referred further questions about Sieben's response to statements it had already provided.
NARUC holds three annual meetings each year and rotates its host city annually; Minneapolis itself hosted a NARUC meeting in July, per KSTP's reporting. KSTP called the Puerto Rico gathering NARUC's 138th annual conference; separately, NARUC's attendee roster described an event as the 131st Annual Meeting and Education Conference. Xcel told KSTP that 78 utility companies were expected to attend.
Cost of the Trip and Broader Travel Pattern
A separate KSTP accountability report found the Puerto Rico trip cost up to $8,165 based on PUC records. That same investigation found commissioners and staff had taken 54 trips to 23 conferences and events over roughly a year and a half, with taxpayers paying $63,167 after reimbursements. The Minnesota Department of Commerce, by contrast, decided not to send staff to this year's conference after reviewing the associated costs, according to KSTP.
Outside Voices Question the Arrangement
KSTP's reporting noted that critics have questioned why utility trade groups would pay to sponsor a regulatory conference at all, given that some of those same groups lobby on behalf of their member companies. Eric Lipman, who worked as an administrative law judge in the utility regulatory system before leaving the bench after 19 years, told the station that companies would not underwrite large checks solely for training purposes, and that companies find the sponsorship valuable for other reasons.
Karlee Weinmann said the organizations sponsoring the conference seek to influence political and policy outcomes for the groups they represent, and that corporate interests can conflict with customers' interests at a time when customers are shouldering rising bills, according to the same KSTP account. The American Gas Association addressed its position on Xcel's recent rate hikes through a spokesperson, while Edison Electric Institute said it regularly attends conferences about issues important to the 250 million customers served by its member utilities, KSTP reported.
For comparison, a 2025 NARUC sponsorship prospectus listed a Leadership package at $50,000 and a Premier package at $35,000, according to the organization's own materials. A similar regional gathering, the Mid-America Regulatory Conference held in Minneapolis, drew more than 600 attendees with top sponsors including Google, AESL and three labor unions each contributing at least $20,000, the Star Tribune reported. Unlike NARUC's conference, that event barred entities it directly regulates from sponsoring, though trade groups representing utility companies were still permitted to sponsor it, per the Star Tribune's reporting.
Minnesota Rule 7845.0700 states that a commissioner or employee shall not directly or indirectly solicit or accept certain things of monetary value from a public utility, telephone company or other listed entity, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. The excerpt of that rule does not establish its full scope, and the available evidence does not establish that any Minnesota regulator violated ethics, conduct or ex parte rules in connection with the Puerto Rico trip.
Minnesota’s commission-conduct rule bars regulators from accepting items of more than nominal value from utilities and other listed parties, but includes an exception for qualifying educational programs open to interested groups or state agencies on the same terms. The rule also says attendees must pay for meals associated with such programs. Those provisions describe the rule’s scope; they do not by themselves establish whether any particular conference arrangement complied.
