power

AAA said in its annual forecast for Thanksgiving travel Tuesday that traffic will be up slightly over a year ago. The company predicted that an estimated 43.6 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home, up from 42.9 million in 2011.

The Public Utilities Commission ordered Xcel Energy to study the cost of new pollution control equipment at two of its coal-burning units in Sherburne County and compare that with the cost of replacing them with a cleaner alternative. Environmental groups consider the order a victory, but Xcel says it was planning something similar. The study is due next summer.

It's true. Xcel Energy reports power use during the scorching summer of 2012 was about one percent less than the year before. The utility says conservation efforts - including more efficient appliances and light bulbs - are making a difference.