Result, rejected
Voters rejected the charter amendment. This proposal does not create a utility commission. 673 yes (31.40%), 1,470 no (68.60%), all four precincts reporting, in unofficial results reported through November 6, 2026 at 9:58 a.m. Central. Minnesota Secretary of State
This guide was written before the vote and is kept as written. City and school district boards canvass local results November 6 to 13. The State Canvassing Board meets November 19.
A city utility since 1892
Luverne has owned its electric system for more than 130 years. Today it buys nearly all its power wholesale and keeps a rebuilt diesel plant as a paid backup.
- The village built its own electric plant in 1892, after a private company failed to deliver.
- Nearly all power is bought wholesale, most of it federal hydropower and the rest through Missouri River Energy Services (MRES), a joint agency of 61 member cities.
- The local diesel plant almost never runs. MRES pays the city to keep it ready, and the city rebuilt it in 2022 with $11.34 million in bonds repaid from electric revenue.
- On November 3, 2026, voters rejected a proposal to move the city's utilities from the council to a new five-member commission, three of whose members would be elected.
A city plant from the start
Luverne went public with its power almost immediately. A private franchise came first and produced nothing, so the village built and paid for its own light plant within a few years.
- 1889A private electric company tries first, and fails
A private Luverne Electric Light company organized in the summer of 1889 and received a franchise, but never made the promised improvements.Internet Archive
- 1892–93The village builds its own plant
Western Electric installed the village electric light system during 1892, and the village accepted it on January 31, 1893. It cost about $9,000, paid in village orders, and the debt was retired by early 1896. (The city website gives 1891, but the 1911 county history and the city’s 2025 benefit report both say 1892.)Internet ArchiveMissouri River Energy Services / City of Luverne
- 1912Cutover to three-phase power
The system switched to three-phase generation and distribution, with multi-day outages during the change.Rock County Star Herald
Buying power wholesale, keeping a backup
Since at least 1976, Luverne has bought its electricity wholesale rather than making it. It buys federal hydropower under its own contract and the rest through a joint agency of small municipal utilities. The local plant became a backup.S-1 agreement, § 2
- 1965–1998A member of the joint power agency
Luverne belongs to the joint-action agency that began as the Missouri Basin Municipal Power Agency in 1965 and became Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) in 1998. It is one of 61 member cities. It is not a member of SMMPA.Missouri River Energy Services
- May 1967The diesel plant goes into service
Federal records list May 1967 as the first operating date for the Luverne plant (EIA plant 1990). It burns distillate fuel oil.GridInfo (EIA-860/923 data)
The backup plant becomes a paid asset
The 2021 polar vortex showed what the plant is for. The city then rebuilt it, signed a contract under which MRES pays for the right to call on it, and set a multi-year rate path.
- Feb 2021The backup plant runs for days in the polar vortex
Luverne ran its generators around the clock for several days to support the regional grid, and MRES paid the fuel and operating costs. Output that year was 314 MWh, the most of any recent year.Rock County Star HeraldU.S. Energy Information Administration
- Feb 2022$11.34 million in bonds for a plant rebuild
The city sold $11.34M of Electric Revenue Bonds (Series 2022A, 3.00%, final maturity 2051) for the generation project. The project covered two new 3.1 MW diesel generators (about $3M each), a modernized east substation and switchgear, and a new control building. City generating capacity is about 9.7 MW. The bonds are repaid from electric revenue, not property taxes.City of LuverneCity of Luverne / MSRB EMMA
- Feb 2023A new capacity contract with MRES
The council approved a revised agreement under which MRES pays $5 per kW a month, rising each June with inflation, for the right to call on Luverne’s generators through 2052. The 2022 bond documents, written under the old $2.85 rate, had projected the payments would cover about 43% of the plant debt.City of Luverne (Legistar attachment)City of Luverne / MSRB EMMA
- 2023A rate study sets a 6% a year path
After a rate study, the council adopted electric increases of about 6% a year for 2024, 2025, and 2026. The 2024 audit reports increases of 4.6% to 5.7% that year.City of Luverne
- 2024National reliability award
The American Public Power Association gave Luverne a Certificate of Excellence in Reliability, based on 2019–23 data and presented at a 2025 council meeting. Average outage time was about 3 minutes a year in 2021–23.Missouri River Energy Services / City of Luverne
The 2026 ballot question
An argument over how much utility money goes to city government turned into a charter amendment. What it would change is on the what changes page, and what each side says is under arguments.
- Nov 2024Utility transfers become a campaign issue
Isaac DeBoer runs for mayor on the size of utility transfers to city government and loses to Pat Baustian, 1,366 to 1,226.Rock County Star Herald / Star MediaMinnesota Secretary of State
- June 3, 2026First petition rejected
A resident committee petitions to move the electric, water, and wastewater utilities under a new five-member commission with three elected seats. The clerk finds enough valid signatures but rules the petition insufficient because its summary was not pre-approved by the Charter Commission.City of Luverne Legistar
- June 30 to July 10, 2026Resubmitted and certified
The committee files a second petition with the summary the Charter Commission approved. The clerk certifies it on July 10.City of Luverne LegistarCity of Luverne Legistar
- July 28 to Aug 10, 2026The council puts it on the November 3 ballot
Resolution 23-26 orders the election. Resolution 24-26 sets the ballot title and question voters will see.City of Luverne LegistarCity of Luverne Legistar
- Sept 15, 2026Public forum at the Palace Theatre
Three members of the petition committee and three speakers for the city answer questions from residents.Rock County Star Herald
- Nov 3, 2026Voters reject the charter amendment
The Secretary of State reports 673 yes votes and 1,470 no votes, with all four precincts reporting. The charter amendment was rejected in these unofficial returns.Minnesota Secretary of State
Where the power comes from today
Almost all of it is bought wholesale. The city's MRES-produced benefit report says its 2024 wholesale cost was below the report's regional comparison. The report does not publish how that comparison was averaged. Federal hydropower from the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) is the largest share, under a contract through 2050. The rest comes from MRES, under a contract that runs through January 1, 2057. In August 2026 the council approved an amended contract extending it to January 1, 2067, effective January 2, 2027.Missouri River Energy Services / City of LuverneCity of Luverne (Legistar attachment)City of Luverne
- of 2024 supply was WAPA federal hydropower
- 62%
- of 2024 supply was WAPA federal hydropowerMissouri River Energy Services / City of Luverne
- per kWh in the city/MRES report, vs. its 7.6¢ regional comparison
- 4.8¢
- per kWh in the city/MRES report, vs. its 7.6¢ regional comparisonMissouri River Energy Services / City of Luverne
- monthly MRES starting payment on 9,300 kW of reserved diesel capacity, adjusted each June for inflation (posted, unsigned contract)
- $5 per kW
- monthly MRES starting payment on 9,300 kW of reserved diesel capacity, adjusted each June for inflation (posted, unsigned contract)City of Luverne (Legistar attachment)
What does the MRES payment cover?
Under the posted 2023 agreement, MRES started paying $5 per kW a month on 9,300 kW, about $46,500 a month, adjusted each June for inflation through May 2052. The 2022 bonds require $17,258,685 in principal and interest over 30 years, an average of $47,941 a month. The agreement pays separately for energy when MRES runs the units.City of Luverne (Legistar attachment)City of Luverne / MSRB EMMA
When the bonds were sold, the bond document projected that payments at the old $2.85 rate would cover about 43% of the debt. MRES raised the rate a year later. The 9,300 kW includes 3,500 kW from the city's 1967 generator, which the city had before the rebuild, and the capacity counted is reset by annual testing. The 2025 budget lists $247,181 for “Electric Production — maintain Power Plant and Diesel generators”. That is budgeted, not audited, spending.City of Luverne / MSRB EMMACity of Luverne (Legistar attachment)2025 budget, p. 114
The plant runs almost never, by design
Over six years the plant generated 659 MWh, against roughly 428,632 MWh sold, or about 0.15% of sales. The city is paid for the plant's ability to run when the regional grid is short, not for what it produces.EIA-923 filings
MRES normally controls when the units run. The agreement lets the city run them for itself during a failure of the outside electric feed, or for testing approved by MRES, at the city's expense. It cannot use that generation to reduce the demand charges it owes MRES.Capacity agreement § 6.8
- 2019: 18 MWh
- 2020: 36 MWh
- 2021: 314 MWh (February 2021 polar-vortex run)
- 2022: 58 MWh
- 2023: 68 MWh
- 2024: 165 MWh