Why does the Public Utilities Commission have a DEI coordinator?
Our annual Golden Turkey contest wraps up this week. Personally, I’m pulling for Nominee No. 2, the estimated 173 DEI administrators employed by Tim Walz in state government.
Minnesota is in desperate need of a state-level Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As with Twitter (X), most state agencies could lose 90 percent of their workforces without experiencing any degradation of services in customer-facing operations.
If I may, allow me to add a 174th position to Nominee No. 2. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) employs a DEI Coordinator on its staff.
As state agencies go, the PUC is on the smaller side. Presumably, the electrons and CH4 molecules regulated by the agency are indifferent to such matters. You would be wrong.
The Commission’s official 8-page Strategic Plan document includes ten references to “DEI.” Although the PUC maintains that “DEI is one of the Commission’s core guiding principles” it is the 5th and final priority listed (page 8).
The Plan reveals that the 5-member Commission has a dedicated DEI committee. Elsewhere, the PUC notes:
In 2023, the legislature enacted Minn. Stat. 216C.51, which provides:
It is the public policy of this state to encourage each utility that serves Minnesota residents to focus on and improve the diversity of the utility’s workforce and suppliers.
According to the latest numbers, 25 states have lower electric rates than Minnesota. That places Minnesota in the top half of the most expensive states.
But, rest assured, our electrons are among the most diverse.
Not to be outdone: here are the environment agencies:
MN Pollution Control: DEI
Natural Resources: DEI