Privacy Policy and Consumer Privacy Notice

(Sept. 10, 2025)

CONSENT

This Privacy Policy and Consumer Privacy Notice (Privacy Policy) explains our commitment to your privacy, and by using this website, you consent and agree to be bound by the Privacy Policy.

Purpose

Minnesota Energy Resources (also referred to as "we" or "us”) is concerned about preventing unauthorized disclosure of customer information. We understand the importance you place on the privacy and security of information that personally identifies you or your account information. We want you to know what personal information we collect and how we use it. We have therefore adopted this Privacy Policy to explain our commitment to your privacy.

Scope

We collect certain customer information and personally identifiable information (PII), collectively referred to as "customer-related information.” Specific customer-related information is needed to perform business functions. Customer-related information is not sold, and we do not use any form of profiling of customer-related information.


I. Information Overview

1. How we collect customer-related information

Customer-related information is collected through various sources (e.g., direct communication with the customer; utility meter; websites or other technology; parents, affiliates or subsidiaries; and service providers or third parties).

2. Types of customer-related information

Types of customer-related information that may be collected:

  • Customer contact information
  • Customer service addresses and dates of service
  • Unique electronic identification numbers, addresses or routing codes
  • Details about a customer's home (e.g., dwelling age, size, and type)
  • Customer account history (e.g., disconnections, reconnections, payment arrangements and late payments)
  • Customer payment history and details
  • Customer account notes
  • Customer usage information (i.e., any information that shows the customer's individual account number, home address and actual energy use for any defined period of time)
  • Official government-issued driver's license or identification number
  • Alien registration number
  • Government passport number
  • Employer or taxpayer identification number
  • Social Security number
    • In Minnesota, a customer is not required to provide a Social Security number to us in order to receive service. If a customer chooses not to provide a Social Security number, we will not deny service, and that customer will be assigned an alternative identification number.
    • Upon request, we will delete a Social Security number already on file.

3. The purpose of customer-related information collection

We collect and maintain only the customer-related information needed for regulated utility business functions.

Data collection purposes listed below:

  • Establishing a customer account
  • Communicating with customers
  • Providing customer support
  • Billing for and collecting on our services
  • Facilitating alternative billing
  • Connecting, reconnecting and disconnecting service
  • Communicating information to credit reporting agencies
  • Facilitating alternative billing measures like estimated billing, budget billing, payment to avoid disconnection, and deposit to guarantee payment for service
  • In execution of the provisions of Minnesota's Cold Weather Rule, Gas Affordability Program and Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program
  • Dispatching our employees to provide customer support
  • Administering participation in programs, surveys and other offers
  • Facilitating participation in conservation programs such as the Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) and energy efficiency programs
  • Protecting against and preventing fraud, unauthorized transactions, claims and other liabilities, including past-due accounts
  • Complying with applicable legal and regulatory requirements

Minnesota Energy Resources uses customer-related information only for the purposes for which it was collected, except under some circumstances when a customer has provided consent for that information to be shared for another reason. If such sharing were to occur, Minnesota Energy Resources would obtain specific consent from you, and you would be free to revoke that consent at any time.

On occasion, Minnesota Energy Resources usage data may be requested to create aggregated or anonymized energy usage data information to report to government entities or others. We will aggregate or anonymize the requested data to a level that protects customers’ anonymity and is in compliance with open data access standards. This ensures the protection of privacy and prevents re-identification of our customers.

4. How we collect customer-related information for ServiceChoice (appliance repair)

In addition to the above purposes of collection, we collect customer data for ServiceChoice, a program offered providing appliance and home comfort system repairs. ServiceChoice is administered by the company, and customer-related information is not shared with third parties outside of the United States in the offering of the program.

5. How we protect and secure collected customer-related information

We take significant steps to protect customer-related information through limiting access, which is provided based on a specific business purpose. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural protections of information consistent with industry standards and applicable laws.

In the event of an unauthorized use or release of information, we will promptly notify any affected customers. The notice will contain a description of the breach, including the date or period of breach, types of information accessed, whether the source or cause of the breach has been identified and provided to law enforcement, steps taken to prevent similar breaches, and steps to redress the breach.

6. How we share certain customer Information

We may share customer information within our company, our parent company (WEC Energy Group) or our parent company’s affiliate subsidiaries, pursuant to the above-stated regulated utility business functions. Customer information is not sold. We have specific procedures for disclosure of customer information to third parties, such as contractors, for the regulated utility business functions listed above. Any third parties obtaining access to customer information are required to provide equivalent or greater protections. Other than as set forth above under the regulated utility business functions, we will not disclose customer information to third parties without written customer consent, which can be revoked by a customer if they so choose.

7. Your consumer rights

You have a right to

  1. Know and access personal data collected by us.
  2. Know the third parties who have collected your data.
  3. Correct inaccurate personal data.
  4. Delete personal data unless it is required by us to perform and complete our regulated utility business functions.
  5. Obtain a copy of your personal data.

8. Connecting with us for consumer personal data request and appeals

  • You may reach out to Minnesota Energy Resources at any time with questions or concerns regarding your information or our protection of your information. You may also contact us to correct or delete information that you feel may have been incorrectly or improperly recorded, collected or retained by Minnesota Energy Resources. You can contact us at the below phone numbers and website.
  • 24-Hour Customer Service: 800-889-9508
  • 24-Hour Natural Gas Emergency: 800-889-4970
  • https://www.minnesotaenergyresources.com
  • https://www.minnesotaenergyresources.com/secure/ssl/contact

For additional information regarding Minnesota Energy Resources’ privacy policies, to inquire regarding Minnesota Energy Resources’ privacy policies, to make a complaint regarding privacy-related matters or to correct your personal information, go to our website: https://www.minnesotaenergyresources.com/privacy.aspx

9 .Company response to consumer personal data request

We will respond within 45 days of the receipt of the request. If you disagree with our initial response and final response after an appeal, you may file a claim with the Minnesota Attorney General:
www.ag.state.mn.us/office/complaint.asp

If you have a dispute with us, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is available for mediation upon request.

  • Online: https://mn.gov/puc
  • U.S. Mail: 121 7th Place East, Suite 350, St. Paul MN 55101
  • Phone: 651-296-0406 or 800-657-3782

II. Online Access

1. How to register for online access

If you register for online access to various services related to your residential account or other applications involving your business account on our website, you may be asked to submit personal information such as your account number, name, last four digits of SSN/FEIN and email address. You may also be asked to submit additional personal information or financial information to use specific services. We will protect all information that you provide us on the website, as set forth below:

  1. The personal information you provide us enables you to access self-service options offered on our website. To better serve you, we may use your email address to contact you in response to inquiries, or provide you with energy-related information. This information will be accessible to anyone who has access to your email. You will have the option to opt out of email marketing messages at any time.
  2. To provide you with services offered on the website, or to complete transactions or requests initiated by you on the website, we may transfer you to a website operated by third parties that help us provide services to you. In such cases, we will have agreements with those parties under which they will agree to maintain the confidentiality of your personal information and to use it only for helping us serve you. We only transfer or share information to those who have a privacy policy at least as stringent or substantially similar to ours.
  3. Other than as set forth herein, we will not disclose your personal information to third parties without your written consent (which consent may be obtained electronically, such as by email), unless we reasonably believe that the disclosure is essential to the conduct of our business, including but not limited to where such disclosure is necessary to (a) comply with the law, legal process or our regulators, (b) collect unpaid bills, (c) enable our employees or consultants to provide service to you and to otherwise perform their duties, (d) comply with interchange functions, (e) obtain and provide credit reporting information, or (f) resolve customer disputes or inquiries. We do not provide your personal information to third parties for the purpose of telemarketing, email or direct mail solicitation.
  4. You should protect the confidentiality of your username and password. You are responsible for all activity on the website accessed by your username and password. Access by our employees or consultants to any personal information you provide is limited to only that necessary to provide the business service offered and to otherwise allow such employees or consultants to perform their duties.

    We try to ensure that the personal information we maintain about you is accurate, current and complete. If you discover that your personal information is incorrect, not current or incomplete, you should update your online profile.

After you have logged in using your online profile, any account information that you enter or that is displayed in your browser window is secured using an industry standard security technology known as Secure Socket Layer (“SSL”). By using SSL, we attempt to safeguard the confidentiality of your personal and financial information. Your browser must be capable of supporting SSL; please check with your browser manufacturer for details.

2. Visitor information collected

We collect information about website use, such as the number of visitors to the website and the number of users that click on certain links or services. For some applications, we link usage information with the particular customer visiting the website. We use industry standard software to create summary statistics of the usage information we collect, which may then be used to highlight what our visitors find interesting, to improve our website design specifications, to identify system performance issues, and for other internal purposes.

3. How we may use your IP address

An Internet Protocol (“IP”) address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer every time that you browse the Internet. When you visit our website, our servers log your current IP address. We may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our servers and to administer our website. Information gathered from logging your IP address is not tied to your personal information and is not used to identify you.

4. How we may use cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer's hard drive by web page servers. When you visit our website, our server may create “session” cookies, making it more convenient for you to use our site by verifying when you travel from page to page that you have signed up with our online services.

Our website may use cookies and other technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons. These technologies help us better understand user behavior, tell us which parts of our website people have visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches.

Our partners also use cookies and other technologies to remember personal information when you use our website and applications. Our goal in these cases is to make your experience with us more convenient and personal.

As is true of most websites, we gather some information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes IP addresses, browser type and language, Internet service provider (ISP), referring and exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream information. We use this information to understand and analyze trends, to administer the site, to learn about user behavior on the site, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole.

In some of our email messages, we use a “click-through URL” linked to content on our website. When customers click one of these URLs, they pass through a separate web server before arriving at the destination page on our website. We track this click-through information to help us determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be tracked in this way, you should not click text or graphic links in the email messages.

  • Why links to other sites are provided on our website
    While browsing our website, you may encounter hypertext links to other websites operated by third parties. These other websites may send their own cookies to you, log your IP address, and otherwise collect information or solicit personal information.
  • We do not control and are not responsible for what third parties do in connection with their websites, or how they handle your personal information. Please exercise caution and consult the privacy policies posted on such websites for further information.

III. Mobile App

1. How our mobile app collects, uses, shares and protects personal information

The terms identified in our Privacy Policy are also incorporated into the Mobile App Terms and Conditions and continue to apply when using the mobile app.

2. Information we collect and why we collect it

  • Information you provide to us. We collect certain personal information when you voluntarily provide it to us, such as when you register for an account or electronically communicate with us. This information may consist of the following: your name, address, telephone number, email address and last four digits of your Social Security number. The information you voluntarily supply will be used by us to respond to your inquiries, supply you with requested information on our services, or issue reminders for or track appointments you have made with us. Your information is considered private and confidential and treated with the strictest confidence. We do not sell or divulge any of your private information to any third parties.
  • Information we collect automatically. None.
  • Information collected through Google Analytics. We use a tool called Google Analytics and may use other third-party analytic tools to collect information about use of our mobile app. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit our mobile app and what pages they visit when they do so. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve our mobile app. Google Analytics does not collect your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected with Google Analytics with PII. Although Google Analytics embeds a permanent cookie on your device to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit our mobile app, the cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your usage of our mobile app is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy.

  • Information collected through cookies and similar technologies. None.

3. How we use and share your information

  • To provide products, services and information. As described above, Minnesota Energy Resources collects information from you so that we can communicate with you, and provide and deliver the information and services you have requested. We use your personal information to contact you about your service, or to inform you about our other services available. Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy and Consumer Privacy Notice, we do not share, rent, license or sell your personal information to third parties.
  • Legal proceedings. We will share personal information with third-party companies, organizations or individuals outside of our organization if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to: (a) meet any applicable law, regulation, subpoena, legal process or governmental request; (b) enforce applicable terms, including investigation of potential violations; (c) detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues; or (d) protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, clients, or the public as required or permitted by law.
  • Transfer in the event of sale or change of control. If ownership of all or substantially all of our business changes, or we otherwise transfer assets relating to our business to a third party, such as by merger, acquisition, bankruptcy proceeding or otherwise, we may transfer or sell your personal information to the new owner. In such a case, unless permitted otherwise by applicable law, your information would remain subject to the promises made in the applicable privacy policy unless you agree differently.

4. Terminating the Minnesota Energy Resources Mobile App — opt out

You can close your Minnesota Energy Resources Mobile App account by deleting it from your mobile device. You can deactivate our messages at any time by changing the notification settings on your device (iOS).

Security of your information
We use industry-standard physical, technical and administrative security measures and safeguards to protect the confidentiality and security of your personal information. However, since the Internet is not a 100% secure environment, we cannot guarantee, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. There is no guarantee that information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical or managerial safeguards. It is your responsibility to protect the security of your login information. Please note that emails and other communications you send to us through our mobile app are not encrypted, and we strongly advise you not to communicate any confidential information through these means.

Security monitoring
For security purposes and to ensure that the services available through the mobile app site remain available to all users, our mobile app may employ industry-standard methods to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on our mobile app site are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Infrastructure Protection Act.

5. Changes to the Privacy Policy and Consumer Privacy Notice

We regularly review our Privacy Policy, but we will not notify you of changes. Since we may amend this document from time to time to reflect changes in our services and how customer information is managed, you should frequently review this document for future changes. Amendments will become effective at the time they are posted on our website.