As energy-hungry data centers loom, Wisconsin ratepayers owe $1 billion on shuttered power plants

  • December 18, 2025
870 450 Leah Steinberg

By: Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch and Paul Kiefer / Wisconsin Watch

This investigation from Wisconsin Watch reveals that utility customers in Wisconsin still owe nearly $1 billion on coal plants that no longer generate electricity. As new energy demands from proposed data centers loom, the concern is clear: will households and small businesses once again be left paying for costly infrastructure if these projects don’t deliver as promised? Without stronger planning and oversight, ratepayers risk being saddled with a new wave of ‘stranded assets’—and the bills that come with them.

Read the Article