The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) must convene a stakeholder group to examine the challenges and opportunities for Minnesota's energy utilities to attract a diverse workforce with the skills needed to advance a 21st century industry and to increase the supplier diversity of energy utilities. The stakeholder group must: examine current and projected employment in the energy utility sector; provide information on possible approaches to assist workers and energy utilities to develop a diverse workforce that has the skills to build, maintain, and operate the electricity system of the future; review key trends that have shaped employment in this sector and the demographics of the sector, including the underrepresentation of women, veterans, and minorities in employment and leadership; identify the challenges to replacing retiring workers; examine the imbalance of available worker skills to utility workforce needs; and identify the challenges and possible approaches to increasing supplier diversity. The stakeholder group must also consider whether information regarding workforce and supplier diversity should be included and considered as part of any resource plan filed by a utility with the commission.
By January 15, 2020, the stakeholder group must issue a report identifying its findings and recommendations for establishing a more diverse workforce and increasing supplier diversity within the electric energy sector.