You have a business to run. It is hard to stay on top of things locally let alone at the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) where your electric rates are set. That’s where the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin comes in. We advocate for all small utility customers from individual citizens to small businesses and farmers for fair, safe and reliable utility service. We monitor the changing energy world and put the utility customer first.
CUB small business members benefit from our team of legislative, utility and communications experts who advocate tirelessly for your business at the Public Service Commission, the state Capitol, in the courts, and at regulatory agencies.
Small Business Membership Benefits:
Advocacy: CUB business membership keeps you up-to-date on issues that matter to you.
- Monthly electronic newsletters highlighting key cases before the PSC, issues before the Legislature, and information to help you control energy costs.
- Action Alerts keep you notified and enable you to get involved, when important decisions are up for hearing/vote.
- CUB works as Your Independent Consumer Voice at the table for small business interests when the PSC sets rates and energy policy.
Empowerment: CUB will help you take action and share your thoughts with Wisconsin government officials.
- Confused by your bill? We can explain it.
- Problem with your utility service and pricing? We will answer questions and help you work with your utility.
- Who makes these decisions anyway? We will show your staff how to interact with the PSC and legislators
Access: CUB can help your organization and employees save resources and money.
- Host a “utility bill clinic” about ways to help residents and businesses save money on their utility bills.
- Promote your support of fair, safe and reliable utility rates with the CUB small business member badge.
Outreach: CUB will help small business members partner with other members and like-minded organizations to bring these issues to the public. CUB staff can answer questions about energy related matters as well as provide free one-on-one utility bill consultations.
Partnership Opportunities: CUB partners with community groups interested in learning about utility issues. We provide presentations on how to understand your utility bills, how the PSC works and how you can get involved. Plus, we can provide information on energy costs you can control. Let us know what you’re interested in, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
December 20, 2006: Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant Should Not Be Sold
Posted: December 20, 2006 by Leah Steinberg
For Immediate Release: December 20, 2006
Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant Should Not Be Sold
MADISON – The Citizens Utility Board is opposed to the proposed sale of the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant, announced today by We Energies, which intends to sell it to FPL Energy, a utility holding company headquartered in Florida.
“If the sale of Point Beach is approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, electricity rates will increase,” said Charlie Higley, executive director. “The people of Wisconsin will lose any ability to oversee the operations of a nuclear power plant located on the shores of Lake Michigan,” continued Higley.
During the next year or so, the PSC will decide if the sale of Point Beach, a 1,033 megawatt nuclear plant located in Two Rivers, is in the public interest. CUB will oppose the sale in the proceedings at the PSC.
Although the terms of the sale have not been made public, CUB is concerned that Wisconsin ratepayers will pay higher rates because of the way electricity is bought and sold in the Midwest. Power plants not owned by regulated utilities are able to make huge profits in Midwest electricity markets. If the sale of Point Beach is approved, a large power plant will no longer be owned by a power company regulated by the PSC: FPL Energy would not have to return excess profits to ratepayers, as is the case for power plants owned by regulated utilities.
In addition to higher costs for ratepayers, the State of Wisconsin will lose jurisdiction over what is arguably the state’s most polluting industrial operation: Point Beach produces thousands of pounds of radioactive wastes every year, for which there are no safe means of disposal.
FPL Energy could run the plant to maximize profits instead of safety. The PSC would have no authority over whether investments should be made to keep the plant operating safely, or whether the plant should be shut down should problems arise regarding its operation. FPL Energy could potentially use the site to store nuclear waste from other nuclear reactors. FPL Energy could even sell the plant to another entity, all without oversight by the PSC and the Wisconsin public.
“If the PSC approves the sale of the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant, the Commission will have taken another step toward electricity deregulation, which will mean higher electricity rates, more pollution, more profits for energy companies, and less control over energy policy by the people of Wisconsin,” concluded Higley.
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Category: Press Releases Tags: WEPCO