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00-058

Advisory Opinion 00-058

November 16, 2000; City of Two Harbors

Published November 16, 2000
Government Data
Opinion Brief AI-Generated

Background & Issues

A representative for the City of Two Harbors asked the Commissioner to clarify the classification of customer data for its municipal utilities, which include electric, natural gas, water, sewer, and storm water services. Specifically, the city asked whether customer details such as names, addresses, and utility consumption amounts are considered public.

Commissioner Decision

The Commissioner determined that customer records for the municipal electric utility are generally not public, though they may be released under specific circumstances. In contrast, customer data for the natural gas, water, sewer, and storm water utilities is public, with the exception of Social Security numbers, which are private.

Automated synopsis generated for quick reference only — it has not been reviewed word-for-word against the official record and is not legal advice. Always review the full opinion text below for the Commissioner's actual determination, or see the original document on mn.gov. Think this summary misstates the opinion? Report it.

Full Text of Advisory Opinion 00-058 Reproduced as published by the Minnesota Department of Administration · retrieved from mn.gov on August 21, 2026
Excerpted Ruling / Conclusion
Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Ms. Nordean is as follows:
Pursuant to section 13.685, data on customers of municipal electric utilities are not public, but may be released to certain entities or persons under conditions enumerated in that section. Data on customers of the City's gas, water, sewer and storm water utilities are public data, according to section 13.03, except for Social Security numbers, which are private under section 13.49.
Advisory Opinion 00-058

November 16, 2000; City of Two Harbors

11/16/2000 10:14:43 AM

This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.


Facts and Procedural History:

For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion and the response from the government entity with which the person disagrees are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of IPA and, except for any data classified as not public, are available for public access.

On September 26, 2000, IPA received a letter from Patty Nordean, on behalf of the City of Two Harbors. In this letter, Ms. Nordean asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain data maintained by the City. Ms. Nordean's request required clarification with IPA staff. A summary of the facts of this matter follows.

According to Ms. Nordean, the City provides the following utilities for customers located in the City: electric, natural gas, water, sewer and storm water. She asked the Commissioner to address the classification of data on City utility customers, including name and address, and utility consumption data.

Issue:

In her request for an opinion, Ms. Nordean asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, what is the classification of the following data maintained by the City of Two Harbors: data on customers of the City's electric, gas, water, sewer and storm water utilities?

Discussion:

Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 1, government data are presumed to be public unless otherwise classified by state or federal law. Pursuant to section 13.685, data on customers of municipal electric utilities are either private (data on individuals), or nonpublic (data not on individuals), but may be released to certain entities or persons under conditions enumerated in that section.

Data on customers of other municipal utilities, in this case the City's gas, water, sewer and storm water utilities, are public data, according to section 13.03. However, pursuant to section 13.49, Social Security numbers are private data. If the City collects the Social Security numbers of its utility customers, those numbers must be redacted from the other utility customer data the City makes accessible to the public.

Opinion:

Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Ms. Nordean is as follows:

Pursuant to section 13.685, data on customers of municipal electric utilities are not public, but may be released to certain entities or persons under conditions enumerated in that section. Data on customers of the City's gas, water, sewer and storm water utilities are public data, according to section 13.03, except for Social Security numbers, which are private under section 13.49.

Signed:

David F. Fisher
Commissioner

Dated: November 16, 2000