Utility News – Citizens Utility Board

CUB Fall Newsletter: Turning 40, negotiating for customer wins, holding the line on fixed fees

We’ve got some important updates to share in our fall newsletter and holiday card, which has just been published. Check it out here. You’ll find updates on our 40th Anniversary Celebration in Madison, as we celebrated nearly 40 years to the day from when Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus signed into law

November 14, 2019: PSC Misses Opportunity to Protect WPS Customers from Weston 3 Overruns

The Public Service Commission on Thursday missed a great opportunity to secure savings for utility customers in northeastern and north central Wisconsin. The rate decision by the PSC will require utility customers to pay for cost overruns plus profit totaling $89 million on a pollution control

August 20, 2019: PSC misses the mark by approving a risky power line that may never deliver on its promises

Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin (CUB) strongly disagrees with Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) approval today of a $500 million power line project from Dubuque, Iowa to Middleton, Wisconsin. CUB’s legal brief in the case, filed in July, disputes evidence claiming that the line

WEC residential customers targeted for big rate hikes

We knew this was likely to be a big year of controversy with the We Energies rate case. Now we know what We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service are looking for with the filing of the second phase of their applications. Now we know that they want to push most of the price hikes onto

April 11, 2019: PSC trims costs to customers as it endorses biggest solar projects in state history

The Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin on Thursday welcomed a decision by state regulators that paves the way for the largest solar projects in state history while also protecting utility customers from costly overruns. By a 2-0 vote, the PSC endorsed both the 300-megawatt Badger Hollow solar

PSC endorses $128 million ‘Rent-a-Roof’ pilot for We Energies

The Public Service Commission adopted a solar program for We Energies on Thursday that could cost customers more than $128 million over the next 30 years and increase rates by nearly $8 million in the first year of operation. The PSC approved a program known as Solar Now that would allow We

Finding Your Voice – What’s Your Role in our Energy Democracy?

The new issue of Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine features an insightful look at Wisconsin’s complex energy system, breaking it down and explaining it in an accessible way. The article and a cool online feature by the academy help to simplify the wide variety of utilities that operate in

CUB Releases ‘Quick Guide to Stop Scams’

Scam artists posing as collection agents continue to prey on utility customers across Wisconsin. This fall, a We Energies customer in Waukesha County was victimized by a scam and bilked out of $1,300. And the Milwaukee utility reported more than 600 scam attempts in a month’s time this fall.

PSC Requires Recovery Plan for Madison Water Utility

In approving a rate hike for Madison Water Utility (MWU) customers, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) took the unusual move to require the utility to submit a plan to shore up its finances and reduce its reliance on borrowing. The state regulators decided that Madison Water Utility will

Settlements Approved: Give and Take Lead to Good Deals for Customers

We’ve got good news for customers of utilities based in Madison, thanks to settlements CUB and other stakeholders have negotiated with utilities. In August, state regulators unanimously approved a settlement that will keep rates stable for the next two years for Wisconsin Power and Light, the