Current Cases:
CUB is working to ensure tech companies pay their way so homeowners, renters and small businesses aren’t left holding the bag for power plants that ultimately might not be needed.
CUB seeks safeguards to protect customers from the significant risks involved with the AI data center boom.
Power Line Projects for Data Centers:
American Transmission Co. (ATC) has multiple transmission line projects in the works to serve data centers in Wisconsin, including two projects for the Racine County data center, one for the Beaver Dam data center, and an extremely large project for the Port Washington data center.
Customers of Wisconsin and upper Michigan utilities already paid for projects to serve the Racine Microsoft data center project. ATC built a line specifically for Foxconn but their major investment in Wisconsin did not pan out.
CUB does not typically weigh in on routing and siting decisions for big power-line projects. Our main concern is to ensure that utilities prove their proposals are needed and cost-effective.
With respect to data centers, CUB is greatly concerned that more than $2 billion of ATC power-line projects will fall on the backs of homeowners, renters and small businesses – and not on tech companies.
The biggest project is 137-CE-221, the Ozaukee County Distribution Interconnection Project.
In August 2026 the PSC revoked the completeness determination for this project, essentially requiring ATC to start over on development of a project estimated to cost about $1.5 billion. This unusual and unprecedented move by the PSC occurred because many key elements of the project had changed so significantly since December 2025 when a completeness determination was first issued for the project.
News and Commentary:
PSC Case Filings:
- Learn about the project: See PSC overview
- PSC case 137-CE-221
- CUB response on whether to revoke completeness determination
- Testimony submitted July 24 by Corey Singletary of CUB
Protecting Customers from Data Center Costs:
One issue that was not resolved completely by the PSC is how to collect the costs of big new transmission lines needed for data centers. Will customers be on the hook for more than $2 billion of power line projects for data centers? Under current rules, transmission cost cannot be directly assigned to a data center.
This is being discussed in multiple forums at the state level as well as at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Earliest this year, executives from seven tech companies, including four actively involved in data center development in Wisconsin, signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge at the White House. This non-binding pledge promises to insulate customers from data center costs, including for “network upgrades,” or transmission projects.
FERC has ordered the regional grid operator for the Midcontinent region to demonstrate how tech companies are being assigned costs for transmission lines. Watch this space for updates.
News and Commentary:
- WisPolitics article with an overview of transmission cost challenges
- Journal Sentinel article about ATC transmission costs for data centers
- CUB Energy Affordability and Data Centers Presentation
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