“This legislation will help Minnesota’s electric cooperatives continue to provide reliable and affordable electricity to Minnesota families,” Darrick Moe, CEO of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association, said.”Minnesota’s electric cooperatives are leading the way in the clean energy transition and these investments will bolster our efforts to push forward applying innovative technologies and resiliency enhancements to our energy infrastructure.”

The legislation establishes the Minnesota State Competitiveness Fund which will help the state attract funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These investments will help Minnesota cooperatives restore power more quickly, help integrate new consumer technologies such as electric vehicles, and much more.