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, 2007: PSC Decisions Reduce Size of Rate Increase
Posted: December 20, 2007 by Leah Steinberg
For Immediate Release: December 20, 2007
PSC Decisions Reduce Size of Electric Rate
Increase Sought by We Energies
MADISON – The Citizens Utility Board commends the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for substantially reducing the size of the electric rate increase that We Energies customers will have to pay starting in January 2008.
The three PSC commissioners today decided more than 100 issues involved with setting electric and natural gas rates for We Energies, which will take effect in 2008 and 2009. We Energies sought an increase of 7.5 percent in 2008 and an additional increase of 7.5 percent in 2009. A preliminary estimate based on today?s action by the PSC is that electric rates will increase by 3.5 percent in 2008 and another 3.5 percent in 2009.
Importantly, the PSC agreed with CUB that We Energies should not be allowed to charge ratepayers for $22 million associated with an outage of the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant during 2005. In general, when utilities shut down plants for maintenance, they need to purchase power from other utilities to make up the difference. For this particular outage, the PSC agreed with CUB that We Energies was responsible for causing the outage to last longer than it should have, which resulted in We Energies purchasing an additional $22 million-worth of electricity. The outage lasted longer than planned because We Energies had not taken action for 23 years to comply with certain regulations of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
In addition, the PSC refused to allow We Energies to keep $70 million in proceeds from the sale of the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant, which was sold to FPL Energy earlier this year. Instead, the PSC ordered We Energies to return this $70 million to ratepayers.
Lastly, the PSC reduced the level of profit sought by We Energies, which will result in a savings to ratepayers of $14 million. CUB has been urging the PSC to reduce utility profits for many years.
Fortunately for ratepayers, the PSC has been reducing utility profits for the past three years or so, although they still remain higher than utility profits in other states.
“Although customers of We Energies will see higher electric rates in 2008, the PSC made good decisions today that will substantially reduce the size of the increase,” said Charlie Higley, CUB executive director.
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Category: Press Releases Tags: WEPCO