Minnesota Energy Resources
("MER")
Please note: By using this website, you will be accepting these terms of use.
If you do not accept these terms, please do not use this website.
Please check the Terms of Use frequently for amendments and revisions.
The most up-to-date version will always be available for review on
https://www.minnesotaenergyresources.com ("the website" or "the site"). The amendments will
become effective at the time they are posted on the website. Your
continued use of the website after amendments are posted will constitute
your acceptance of such amendments.
We may modify or discontinue any aspect or component of the website at
any time. If you breach any of these Terms of Use, we can terminate your
right to use the website. Upon termination, you agree to immediately delete
or destroy any downloaded or printed material obtained from the website.
Content
We provide a variety of information and services to our customers through
the website. You may use the website solely for your own residential,
business or informational purposes and pursuant to these Terms of Use; you
may not use the website for the purpose of competing with MER. You may
view and download material displayed on the website, provided that you
retain all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary notices displayed
on the materials.
While using the website or any service, you may not:
- retransmit, republish, distribute, reuse, resell, repost, re-engineer,
or make multiple copies of the website or any portion thereof without MER's
prior written consent;
- upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute through the website
any material that infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark,
service mark, trade dress, trade secret, or other proprietary rights, or which
violates any contractual, fiduciary, or judicially-imposed nondisclosure
obligations;
- engage in conduct, during use of the website, that is unlawful, threatening,
harassing, abusive, fraudulent, defamatory, libelous, or invasive of the privacy
or publicity rights of others;
- upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce or distribute through the website
any material that contains advertising solicitations, bulk unsolicited emails or
spam, chain letters, pyramid opportunities, or offers for the sale of goods or
services;
- upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute through the website,
or place any links on the website to, any material that is vulgar,
obscene, profane, hateful, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable;
- alter, interfere, or disrupt the content or functioning of the website or
MER's
service, including but not limited to uploading, posting, or transmitting any
material that (a) contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots,
or other computer programming routines that damage, interfere with, capture,
intercept, or expropriate the website or any data contained therein; or (b)
disproportionately burdens the operation of the website;
- use the website to gain unauthorized entry or access to other computer
systems or networks;
- "mirror" the website or any of its content on any other server without
the express prior written permission of MER;
- impersonate any person or entity, falsely state or otherwise misrepresent
your affiliation with any person or entity, forge headers or otherwise manipulate
identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any content that you post, or
otherwise transmit to us via the website; or
- upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce or distribute through the website
any material that encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal
offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law, regulation,
or government order.
The website and any content, information, software, functions, and applets
provided on or through the website are made available on an "as is" and "as
available" basis. MER does not warrant that the website or any content or service
provided in connection with the site will be timely, secure, uninterrupted, or
error-free, or that defects in the website or in any content or service provided
on or through the website will be corrected.
MER will not be responsible for errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions,
defects, or delays in the operation or transmission of the website or any
services or related content, for communication line failures, or for computer
viruses associated with the operation of the website. MER makes no warranty
regarding any information made available through or on the website.
MER MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE WEBSITE,
INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT,
MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE
THAT YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.
Register For Online Access
The website offers our customers a variety of functions and services.
Many of the services use personal and customer account information. To protect
your privacy, we may require that you establish an online profile. We reserve
the unqualified right to:
- accept or decline an application to register for online access;
- terminate any online profile; and to
- discontinue the provision of any service related to such an online profile.
When registering for online access, you will either designate or receive a
username and password that you can use to establish your identity when you
sign in for and use certain services. You agree:
- to provide accurate and complete information when registering for online access;
- to update your information as necessary so that it remains accurate and complete; and
- not to impersonate any other person, operate under an alias, or otherwise conceal your identity.
The right to use the services and functions of an online profile on the website
is limited to you as the party enrolling and those authorized persons to whom
you give your password. You are responsible for safeguarding your username
and password and agree to hold MER harmless from any claims resulting from
improper use of your password. You agree to be responsible for all acts or
omissions with respect to access to or use of an online profile by any person
using your password. Please contact MER immediately if you believe that the
security of your username or password has been compromised.
Information collected from you on the website (including information about your
online profile and customer account) is subject to our website Privacy Policy.
Enrollment activation
We will send an email with an activation code to your email address to successfully complete your enrollment in My Account. Failure to validate your enrollment with a valid email address will require you to enroll again to access the My Account system.
Communications
By validating your account with a valid email address, you agree to receive account notices via email. In addition, you may receive newsletters and other marketing or informational communication. These communications are optional, and you will have the opportunity to opt out of if you do not want them.
Emergency communications
By validating your account with a current and accurate cellular number, landline and email address, you agree to receive emergency communications via SMS Text, phone call or email.
Emergency communications include information related to storm outages, large-scale outages, natural disasters, federal emergencies, etc.
These emergency communications are optional, and you will have the opportunity to opt out if you do not want them.
Please update your profile with an accurate cellular number.
Standard messaging rates apply.
Paper-free billing
By enrolling in My Account, you may choose the paper-free billing option. You understand and agree that stopping your paper bill means you will no longer receive a paper copy through U.S. Mail. You will be able to view or access your bill by signing in to My Account and using your email and password.
We periodically include notices in billing statements, including, but not limited to, notices that are required by law or a regulatory agency regarding changes in your service. By selecting the paper-free billing option, you understand and agree that those notices will be available to you only in your online bill.
Your obligation to pay your energy bill by the due date is not altered or modified in any way by stopping your paper bill.
Summary Bill customers will receive only the Summary Bill summary page(s) in paper form. The summary bill is available online along with each individual account enrolled in the Summary Bill. Summary Bill customers do not receive a paper copy of the bills for the individual accounts enrolled.
If your paper bill is scheduled to stop, you may request continuation of your paper bill at any time.
Payment obligations
You are obligated to keep email and payment information up to date. We are not responsible for late or missed payments due to inaccurate information on the account.
Payments scheduled in My Account:
- Before 4 p.m. CST Monday through Friday will post that same day.
- After 4 p.m. CST Monday through Friday will post the next business day.
- Anytime Saturday, Sunday or on a holiday will post the next business day.
To ensure timely payments, allow enough time for your payment to post by your due date. If you do not, or if for any reason your account is not in good standing, you will be fully responsible for all late fees and face possible service disconnection. If we are unable to complete the payment because of insufficient funds in your account, or if the payment was submitted without enough time to post to the account, late fees and service disconnection may result. We are under no obligation to inform you of an incomplete payment due to nonsufficient funds or credit in your payment account to process the transaction. In this case, you are responsible for making alternate payment arrangements to bring your account up to date. Customers may be subject to the following if there are one or more late payments or returned payments:
- A late payment charge every month until the balance is paid in full.
- Up to a $25 nonsufficient funds fee.
- Inability to pay by personal check for a rolling 15-month period.
- Requirement to pay with cash, money order, credit card, debit card, traveler’s check or cashier’s check from a bank or other financial institution.
- Inability to make a payment in My Account with a checking or savings account for 15 months.
Bank account validations
After entering your checking or savings account information to make a payment or update a payment method, your bank account information
will be validated according to the Nacha operating rules.
Contact your financial institution if you experience issues with having your bank account information validated.
Password
We respect your privacy and maintain your My Account password as confidential. You have sole responsibility for the security of your password, and you are solely responsible for notifying us if your password is lost or stolen. We are not liable for any actions, claims, costs, damages or expenses arising from a lost, misplaced or stolen password. If you have forgotten your password and want to change your password for any reason, you may reset your password online.
Unauthorized use includes accessing any account without the permission of the customer of record where we are not in receipt of that permission. Businesses hired by customers to review energy accounts online must ensure that we receive permission from the customer of record before account access can be authorized. Any unauthorized access to any account will result in automatic removal from My Account.
When you give someone your email and My Account password, you are authorizing that person to obtain account information and/or make changes to your account. You are responsible for all transactions that person performs while using your email and password. All transactions that person performs, even those transactions you did not intend or want performed, are authorized transactions. If you notify us that the person is no longer authorized, then only transactions that person performs after the time you notify us are considered unauthorized. Transactions that you or someone acting with you initiates with fraudulent intent are also authorized transactions. For your protection, log off after every online session and close your browser to ensure confidentiality.
Web chat option
We offer a web chat or pop-up option to provide real-time electronic assistance and navigation of our online platforms and services. When using the web chat or pop-up option, you should not enter any personal or sensitive information (i.e., account number, Social Security number, credit card or email address).
Cancellation and termination of service
We may, without notice, restrict or terminate your use of My Account and any service, user accounts or passwords at any time. You may cancel services at any time. Any such restriction or termination will not relieve any obligations you incurred and accrued prior to the effective date of such termination.
External links and content
As a service to you and for your convenience, My Account may include links to websites operated by third parties. By providing links to third-party websites, we are not endorsing or sponsoring such third parties or their websites. You agree that we are not responsible for the availability of, or content on, any websites operated by third parties that may be accessible through or linked to our website.
If you navigate to another site, that site's privacy policy and terms of use are in effect on that site. We recommend that you read the terms on any site to which you link.
SSL and Encryption
The process of logging on that requires usernames, passwords, or any
personal information that you enter in fields or forms is secured using
an industry standard security technology known as Secure Sockets Layer
("SSL"). By using SSL, we attempt to safeguard the confidentiality of
your username, password, and other personal information. For SSL to work,
your browser must be capable of supporting ssl; please check with your
browser manufacturer for details.
Encryption is the process of converting information into a more secure format for
transmission. The plain text is converted to scrambled code while
being transmitted, and then decrypted back to plain text at the receiving end of
the transmission.
The web address will have a https instead of http when using SSL.
Service level agreement
We cannot guarantee that online services offered through My Account will be available at all times. If services are available, we cannot guarantee that online services will be available without delay, limitations or slowness due to any of the following conditions:
- Hardware failure, including failures of computers, tablets, smartphones, servers, networks, telecommunication lines and connections, and other electronic and mechanical equipment.
- Software failure, including bugs, errors, viruses, configuration problems, system incompatibility, utilities or applications, the operation of firewalls or screening programs, unreadable codes, or irregularities within particular documents or other content.
- System upgrades.
- Overload of system capacities.
- Damage caused by severe weather.
- Interruption (whether partial or total) of power supplies.
- Strike or other stoppage (whether partial or total) of labor.
- Governmental or regulatory restrictions, exchange rulings, court or tribunal orders or other human intervention.
- Any other cause beyond our control.
It is your responsibility to take appropriate steps to ensure that payments are made on the account in a timely manner.
We are not responsible for late fees or other account action as a result of missed payments due to site disruption.
We are not responsible for troubleshooting errors that are caused by your use of nonsupported environments, the performance or
nonperformance of the internet, or defective hardware. You are solely responsible for the compatibility and functioning of software
products installed on your devices.
User conduct
You agree not to use My Account or the content or information delivered through My Account in any way that would: (a)
infringe any third-party copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
(b) be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items, including but not limited to use of My Account to impersonate another
person or entity; (c) violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including and without limitation to those governing export control,
consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising); (d) be false, misleading or inaccurate; (e) create liability
for us or our affiliates or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our third-party provider; (f) be defamatory, trade libelous,
unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; (g) potentially be perceived as being obscene or pornographic or containing child pornography,
or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable; (h) interfere with or disrupt computer networks connected to My Account; (i) interfere with
or disrupt the use of My Account by any other user; (j) access the information and content manually by request and not programmatically by macro
or other automated means; or (k) use My Account in such a manner as to gain unauthorized entry or access to the computer systems.
Copyrights
All content on the website, including all text, graphics, artwork, logos, buttons,
icons, images, audio clips, video clips, software, and code, is the copyrighted
property of MER or other content suppliers and is protected by U.S. and
foreign copyright laws and international conventions. Any unauthorized use
of materials on the website may violate copyright laws, trademark laws,
the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations or statutes.
Except as allowed in these Terms of Use, such content may not be reproduced,
modified, edited, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted,
sold, or transmitted (in whole or in part) in any form or by any means,
including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the express prior written permission of MER or the other
copyright owner, as the case may be.
Trademarks
The trademarks, service marks, logos, graphics, page headers, button icons,
scripts, domain names, URLs, and other identifiers ("Trademarks") used and
displayed on the website are registered and unregistered Trademarks of MER
and others in the United States and other countries. No display or use of
such Trademarks may be made without the express prior written permission
of MER or other Trademark owner, as the case may be. You may not use any
meta tags or any other "hidden text" using MER's name or Trademarks without
the express prior written permission of MER.
Suggestions
It is MER's policy NOT to accept or consider any creative ideas,
suggestions or other materials other than those that are specifically
requested by MER. If, despite our request that you do not send us any
creative materials, you send us creative suggestions, ideas, notes,
drawings, concepts, or other information (collectively, the "Information"),
the Information shall be deemed, and shall remain, the property of MER.
None of the Information shall be subject to any obligation of
confidentiality on the part of MER. MER shall not be liable for
any use or disclosure of any Information.
Children
Although MER does not
specifically seek to obtain any information
from children, we do not restrict children from visiting the website.
We urge children only to give us any information after getting
permission from their parents. In some cases, there are age limits
for certain contests and give-aways. More details are provided
in the contest areas.
Statement of liability and hold harmless and indemnification
These terms and conditions do not supersede, modify or in any way mitigate your obligation to be bound by and comply with all applicable tariffs,
rules or regulations related to your service. Minnesota Energy Resources MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO MY ACCOUNT OR ANY SERVICE PROVIDED THEREUNDER, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY,
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. Minnesota Energy Resources ASSUMES
NO RESPONSIBILITY WITH RESPECT TO ANY USE OF MY ACCOUNT OR ANY SERVICE PROVIDED THEREUNDER.
Minnesota Energy Resources SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT,
PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR FOR THE LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE OR DATA WHICH ARISE FROM OR IS RELATED TO MY ACCOUNT OR ANYTHING
RELATED TO ONLINE BILLING BY Minnesota Energy Resources. IN ADDITION, YOU INDEMNIFY AND HOLD
Minnesota Energy Resources HARMLESS FROM ANY ACTIONS, CLAIMS, DAMAGES, LIABILITIES OR LOSSES
ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE USE OF MY ACCOUNT AND ANY SERVICE PROVIDED THEREUNDER.
This Agreement shall be construed under the laws of Minnesota. Minnesota Energy Resources
reserves the right to change any terms and conditions of My Account AT ANY TIME. Minnesota Energy Resources
may update or change these Terms and Conditions from time to time. You can review the most current version of the Terms and Conditions at any time.
If Minnesota Energy Resources makes a material change to these Terms and Conditions, you will be provided
notice of that change. Updates or changes to the Terms and Conditions will automatically be effective when posted on this site, and you should
periodically visit this page to review the 10 current Terms and Conditions for My Account, by which you are bound. Your continued use of this
site after any changes in these Terms and Conditions shall constitute your consent to these changes.
Minnesota Energy Resources reserves the right to change, modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently,
the site or any portion thereof, including any and all content contained on the site, at any time without notice.
You agree that Minnesota Energy Resources shall not be liable to you or to any third party
for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the site or any portion thereof.
MOBILE APP Incorporation of MER Terms and Conditions
The terms identified in the MER Terms and Conditions set forth above are incorporated into the MOBILE APP Terms
and Conditions and continue to apply when using the MOBILE APP.
Consent
By using the MOBILE APP, you agree that you have read and consent to the MOBILE APP Terms of Use and Mobile
App Privacy Policies identified on the home screen.
Price of MOBILE APP
The MOBILE APP is free to all customers. The MOBILE APP may be deleted at any time.
Emergency Alert
Usage of MOBILE APP automatically opts the user into receiving emergency alerts from the Company (e.g.,
massive outage, natural disaster, federal emergency, etc.).
Push notifications
Company may send push notifications that are free of charge. Such push notifications are a courtesy but
users with emergencies should always call 911 with life threatening emergencies. Gas and electric emergencies
may also be reported via the 1-800 number listed in the MOBILE APP. Except for emergency alerts, user can deactivate
these messages at any time by changing the notification settings in the MOBILE APP.
Setting / Notifications / Alerts
Users are responsible for opting in and updating/maintaining all settings and alerts. Any user changes and
updates may be delayed up to 24 hours before the change and update takes effect by the Company.
Usage Alerts
Usage and dollar limit alerts are estimates and are therefore subject to change based on the User's actual
usage. Usage Alerts do not represent final bills.
Payment of bills through Stripe
Some customers of MER are able to pay their energy bills on the
mobile app by using the electronic bill payment service offered through Stripe Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Stripe”).
While using this service, some of the information is retrieved from Stripe's servers. As a result, your use of the bill
payment service will be subject to Stripe’s terms of use,
and use of your personal information will be subject to Stripe’s privacy policy.
You should review both carefully before signing up for Stripe, as the MER
terms and conditions do not apply to the service, and MER is not responsible
for the functionality or security of the service. Additionally, please be aware that if you dispute any payment made through Stripe
it must be addressed with your issuing debit/credit card provider or financial institution or with Stripe.
MER is not responsible for any research or resolution of such payment disputes.
Bank account validations
After entering your checking or savings account information to make a payment or update a payment method, your bank account information
will be validated according to the Nacha operating rules.
Contact your financial institution if you experience issues with having your bank account information validated.
SSL and Encryption
The process of logging on that requires usernames, passwords, or any personal information that you enter in fields
or forms is secured using an industry standard security technology known as Secure Sockets Layer ("SSL"). By
using SSL, we attempt to safeguard the confidentiality of your username, password, and other personal information.
For SSL to work, your browser must be capable of supporting SSL; please check with your browser manufacturer for
details.
Encryption is the process of converting information into a more secure format for transmission. The plain text
is converted to scrambled code while being transmitted, and then decrypted back to plain text at the receiving
end of the transmission.
Limitation of Liability
MER, ITS AFFILIATES OR SUBSIDIARIES, AND THEIR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUCCESSORS, OR ASSIGNS,
WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL,
OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOST DATA, LOST PROFITS, OR COSTS OF
PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE MOBILE APP OR ANY OF
THE SERVICES AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE MOBILE APP.
CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN
DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY
TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless MER, its affiliates and subsidiaries, and their officers,
directors, employees, agents, successors, or assigns from any and all claims, liabilities, costs, and expenses
(including reasonable attorneys' and experts' fees) arising in any way from your use of the MOBILE APP or the
placement or transmission of any message, information, software, or other materials or content on or through
the MOBILE APP by you or users of your MOBILE APP profile or related to any violation of these MOBILE APP Terms
of Use by you or users of your MOBILE APP profile.
Notice of Messaging Rates
If you agree to receive text messages or telephone calls (landline or mobile), any applicable costs and fees from your service provider shall apply.
