, rates
On April 1, Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPS) filed an application to change electric rates in 2027 and 2028.
WPS is seeking total increases of $165 million over the next two years (2027-28) for its electric and natural gas utilities. This case comes after WPS customers already saw double-digit hikes phased in over the last four years. Find out more about the last case here.
CUB will be actively involved in the case, searching for savings and opportunities to pare back the size of the increase. Here are some key facts about the utility’s proposal in this case:
In PSC case 6690-UR-129, WPS is requesting:
Electricity bills
Requested electricity hike for 2025: $86.1 million, or 6.3%
Requested electricity hike for 2026: $50.8 million, or 3.5% on top of the requested 2027 increase
Total requested increase for 2025-26: $136.9 million, 10% above current prices
Residential impact for 465,000 customers in northeastern and north central Wisconsin: phased in over two years. 14.3% increase in 2025, 5.2% increase in 2026
For a typical customer using 660 kWh per month: $118 bill today would rise by $11 in 2027 and $5 to in 2028, for a total bill of $134 and a total increase of $16 per month by 2028. That translates to an increase of $192 per year, by 2028.
Natural Gas bills
WPS natural gas increase for 2027: $21.7 million
WPS natural gas increase for 2028: $6.5 million
Total increase for natural gas: $28.2 million
WPS has 344,000 residential natural gas customers in northeastern and central Wisconsin.
IMPACT OF DATA CENTERS on THIS CASE
- WPS’ rate case was filed while the big case involving how data centers will pay for their We Energies energy needs is still proceeding. The decisions on that case could change the amounts in the initial WPS April 1 proposal.
- As it stands now, WPS and We Energies are proposing to work with American Transmission Co. to implement a key fix for a big loophole in the We Energies data centers case that would expose customers of WPS, We Energies and other Wisconsin and Michigan utilities paying for about $2 billion in costs for big overhead transmission lines.
- CUB will be reviewing the company’s proposal to ensure the transmission fix is workable and helps live up to the commitments the tech companies and utilities have made that the tech companies will pay their own way for the network upgrades needed for data centers.
WHAT’S DRIVING THE ELECTRIC INCREASE?
- New power plants being proposed, higher profit, higher transmission charges, and inflation.
SPOTLIGHT ON PROFIT
- CUB urges the PSC to make progress in reducing profits. The PSC declined to reduce profits for WPS in the last case, decided in December 204. CUB’s advocacy in the last case would have saved $36 million over two years.
- In the new proposal, the utility wants to hike its return on equity back to 9.9%. WPS also seeks a “capital structure” change that would allow it to profit more than it does already — by allowing a greater portion of its spending to capture those returns.
- Wisconsin investor-owned utilities already get the fifth highest profit rates in the country, forcing customers to shoulder energy bills that are too high.
- The parent company of WPS, WEC Energy Group, reported total profit of more than $1.6 billion in 2025. The majority of the multi-state utility company’s profits come from its Wisconsin utilities.
AFFORDABILITY IS JOB ONE
- CUB is concerned that utility customers of WPS are paying among the highest rates in the Midwest. A new analysis ranks WPS 18th highest, and WPS’ sister utility, We Energies, the third highest utility among nearly 50 utilities across the Midwest.
- Typical customers’ bills have more than doubled over the past 25 years, at a rate faster than inflation. Meanwhile, income and wealth disparities between the wealthiest Wisconsinites and everyone else continue to grow.
- Shareholders of We Energies’ parent company, WEC Energy Group, have done exceedingly well during that time, with gains for WEC outperforming not only other utilities but the S&P 500 as a whole.
EXPECTED TIMELINE
- April 1: Application filed in PSC Docket 6690-UR-129
- Spring/Summer: PSC Audit, Analysis
- August-September: CUB experts, PSC staff, other groups weigh in
- Likely in September: Hearing for utility, CUB, PSC staff, other groups
- September/October: Public Hearing. Subscribe to CUB Updates to stay in the loop.
- Likely October: Last day to submit public comments on the case.
- Likely in November: PSC Open Meeting to decide the case
- Likely in December: PSC Decision to be issued
FIND OUT MORE
- See the filings in the case at the PSC here.
- When the notice for the public hearing is issued, find it here.
HAVE YOUR SAY
When the public comment period opens, find the link to file a public comment here. Find out more about public participation in cases at the PSC website here.
