Minnesota regulators signed off on the final approval needed to sell Allete to a pair of private investment firms.

The five-member Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Friday voted unanimously to approve the sale of Minnesota Power’s Duluth-based parent company to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners.

The proposed $6.2 billion deal, announced in May 2024, drew concern over private equity’s ownership of a utility and the potential for rising electricity rates.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, a consumer advocacy group, several environmental groups and Minnesota Power’s largest industrial customers were opposed to the sale, and an administrative law judge in July recommended, in a non-binding opinion, that the PUC reject the d

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