Utility Tariff Analysis · Updated September 2026

Xcel's Large General Time-of-Day Service and Otter Tail's Super Large General Service: What It Means for AI Data Center Siting in Minnesota

September 18, 2026 6 min read Strategic Crypto Reserve Data Center Infrastructure

100 MW (Xcel) or 25 MW with an 80% load factor and 175,000 MWh annually (Otter Tail) determines which of three distinct Minnesota large-load classes applies: Xcel's approved Large General Time of Day Service for 100 MW-plus customers, Otter Tail's Super Large General Service for 25 MW-plus greenfield loads meeting strict load-factor and annual-usage tests, or Minnesota Power's newly proposed Very Large Power (VLP) customer class and service tariff filed July 15, 2026.

Minnesota at a glance: industrial power about 9.8¢/kWh (EIA-based, indexed to April 2026) · grid queue about 32 months · data center equipment tax exemption: none. Indicative figures from the SCR AI Build Configurator v1.4.0.

The Tariff Explained Model a Minnesota Build Free

Xcel's Large General Time-of-Day Service and Otter Tail's Super Large General Service

Xcel Energy / Minnesota Power (ALLETE) / Otter Tail Power

25-289; 26-126; 26-211

Regulatory docket / filing reference

100 MW (Xcel) or 25 MW with an 80% load factor and 175,000 MWh annually (Otter Tail)

Who the tariff applies to

Also active in Minnesota: Xcel is serving a 1,000 MW Google campus in Pine Island projected to deliver $1.1 billion in net benefits to other customers over 15 years, and Minnesota Power is serving a 1,000 MW Google project in Hermantown that includes 700 MW of new clean energy resources built without raising customer costs.

Minnesota at a glance: large-load tariff threshold, docket and who it applies to

Named Projects Already Underway

Customer	Location	Details
Google	Pine Island, MN	1,000 MW data center project; Xcel estimates $1.1 billion in net benefits to other customers over the 15-year contract
Google	Hermantown, MN	1,000 MW data center project including 700 MW of new clean energy resources built at no added cost to other customers

Policy Update, 1 October 2026

HF 5125 / SF 5231 became law and repeals the data centre sales and use tax exemption for purchases from 1 July 2026, completing the 2025 removal of the electricity exemption. New Minnesota projects are now modelled paying sales tax on equipment in the SCR AI Build Configurator. At the federal level, FERC issued show-cause orders on large-load interconnection to all six RTOs and ISOs on 18 June 2026, and PJM filed a framework on 13 August 2026 under which new loads of 50 MW or more that do not bring their own capacity face curtailment ahead of other demand response from 1 June 2027.

Figures compiled from the Edison Electric Institute's "Large Load Projects and Tariffs" (September 2026) member-company summary and public regulatory filings. Confirm current tariff terms directly with Xcel Energy / Minnesota Power (ALLETE) / Otter Tail Power and the relevant state public utility commission before relying on any figure for a capital decision.

Weighing Minnesota against another state or a Canadian province with a different rate and interconnection picture entirely? Run both sides of the comparison through our licensed AI data center cost configurator — it applies each jurisdiction's actual power rate, tax treatment and large-load tariff rules to the same seven build configurations.

Named data center projects underway in Minnesota

Named Projects Already Underway: Xcel's Large General Time-of-Day Service and Otter Tail's Super Large General Service: What It Means for AI Data Center Siting in Minnesota

Model This State on Your Own Site

Every figure above comes from the same power-cost and tariff dataset behind the SCR AI Build Configurator — a licensed, embeddable widget that models seven data center build configurations against all nine Canadian provinces and all 50 US states plus DC, returning capital expenditure by line item, energy cost, revenue by commercial structure, EBITDA and payback.

Licence	Price (CAD)	Who it suits
Standard	$4,000 / domain / year	Advisors who need three lease-model configurations and a clipboard summary
Pro	$10,000 / domain / year	Consultants who send CSV deliverables to clients and want all seven configurations
Enterprise	From $25,000 / year, up to 3 domains	Developers and EPC firms who want the model on their own cost basis with attribution removed

Not ready for an annual licence? A one-time Site Screening Report ($950, one site) runs the same model for a single build without embedding anything.

Compare Licences Try the Live Demo

Model a Minnesota data center build in the SCR AI Build Configurator: CapEx, power cost, EBITDA and payback

Model This State on Your Own Site: Xcel's Large General Time-of-Day Service and Otter Tail's Super Large General Service: What It Means for AI Data Center Siting in Minnesota

Compare Minnesota With Nearby States

Large-load rules change sharply at state lines. See how the neighbouring utilities handle data center and high-density loads before you shortlist a site.

Wisconsin

We Energies VLC tariff

Iowa

Alliant Rider ICR

North Dakota

MDU high density (10 MW)

South Dakota

South Dakota SB 135

All 50 State Tariffs Data Center Cost Calculator AI Build Configurations

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Xcel's Large General Time-of-Day Service and Otter Tail's Super Large General Service?

Why did Xcel Energy / Minnesota Power (ALLETE) / Otter Tail Power introduce this large-load structure?

To ensure the cost of new generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure built to serve very large customers, chiefly hyperscale data centers, is paid for by those customers rather than spread across the general rate base of residential and small commercial ratepayers.

What large data center projects are already active in Minnesota?

Xcel is serving a 1,000 MW Google campus in Pine Island projected to deliver $1.1 billion in net benefits to other customers over 15 years, and Minnesota Power is serving a 1,000 MW Google project in Hermantown that includes 700 MW of new clean energy resources built without raising customer costs.

Does this tariff replace Minnesota's standard commercial and industrial rates?

No. Xcel's Large General Time-of-Day Service and Otter Tail's Super Large General Service sits above Xcel Energy / Minnesota Power (ALLETE) / Otter Tail Power's standard commercial and industrial rate schedules and applies specifically to customers that meet or exceed the large-load threshold described above. Smaller commercial and industrial loads continue to be billed under existing rate schedules.

How can I model a Minnesota data center build against this tariff and other states?

The SCR AI Build Configurator applies Minnesota's power cost, tax treatment and large-load tariff rules alongside all other US states and Canadian provinces, so a Minnesota scenario can be compared line-by-line against any alternative site.