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Hibbing utility approves up-to-$99,000 contract for environmental permitting on Southern interconnect
Summary
The Hibbing Public Utilities Commission approved a time-and-materials contract not to exceed $99,000 with Merchant Incorporated to provide specialized environmental and permitting consulting for the Southern interconnect project; commissioners said the work is niche and will support Minnesota Public Utilities Commission permitting.
The Hibbing Public Utilities Commission on March 20 approved a time-and-materials consulting agreement with Merchant Incorporated not to exceed $99,000 to support environmental review and permitting for the utility’s Southern interconnect project.
The contract was presented by Mr. Peterson, HPU staff, who said the work is specialized and will support the permitting process before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. "As we've been talking about in various meetings, HPU is building a Southern interconnect, and part of that is to engage with the appropriate environmental and, permitting consulting folks to make sure that the permitting work can continue," Peterson said. He described Merchant Incorporated as a firm with experience working on MPUC matters and said the contract would cover about an 18‑month period and remain under monthly invoice review.
Commissioners discussed how Merchant’s work ties to the Electric Power Engineers (EPE) project manager and engineering role already on the program. Commissioner Sandstedt asked whether the firm had been used previously; Peterson said EPE serves as overall project manager and engineers and Merchant’s specialized permitting work complements that role. Peterson also said the proposed consulting work had been included in the broader project budget that the commission reviewed in October, though the full 2025 capital budget had not yet received final commission approval and would be presented again in April.
A motion by Chair Hart, supported by Commissioner Stokes, to approve the consulting agreement carried after voice vote. No roll-call tally was recorded in the minutes.
The commission noted the contract is time-and-materials so staff will continue monthly invoice review and may scale work up or down as needed. Staff said the firm maintains local presence in St. Paul and has experience working with the Department of Commerce and MPUC to shepherd complex permitting questions.
The commission will review the utility’s full 2025 capital budget at its April meeting, when the Southern interconnect budget and related consultant costs will be further discussed.
