Xcel shareholder vote keeps resolution alive by Elaine Klaassen Little by little, through the work of environmental and religious organizations, Minnesotans are finding out that the company comprising the largest component of Xcel Energy's renewable portfolio, Manitoba Hydroelectric Company, does not produce acceptable renewable energy. Unexpectedly, on February 5, the FSEC declared that the resolution had to be included in Xcel's proxy statement. Outside the convention center, on the day of the meeting, various activist groups handed out information about the dams in Manitoba as well as nuclear storage sites on native land. Materials exhibited a marked emphasis on the need to seek truly renewable energy sources. Cameras were also not allowed.
All shareholders care about the environment - some are just more extreme than others.
It's an international disgrace. Eighty percent of the vote had already come in before the meeting. Before the final votes were put in the basket, Lea Foushee, co-author of the shareholder resolution, appealed to Xcel to make their corporate practices support their new corporate image. Although Chief John Miswagon of Cross Lake is not an Xcel shareholder and was there as a guest of a shareholder, protocol was changed to give him a chance to speak. He was allowed to complete his remarks even though they continued beyond the allotted three minutes he was sharing with Foushee.