In a landmark case with national implications, Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s regulators have greenlit a private equity giant’s acquisition of one of the Midwest’s largest power companies.

Critics argue that the precedent-setting case opens the doors to a new wave of Wall Street behemoths buying up utilities across the country to cash in on skyrocketing electricity rates — and to drive those rates even higher.

For over a year, BlackRock has been battling to take over Minnesota Power, a utility company that keeps the lights on for more than one hundred thousand customers in northern Minnesota. As the Lever uncovered in an August investigation, the private equity behemoth muscled support from labor unions and so-called clean energy groups in Minnesota this summer to help push through the deal, despite widespread opposition.