Making Strides in a Tough Year: 2021 CUB Annual Report

CUB’s annual report highlights savings for customers, advocacy for those less fortunate during the pandemic and our work to position CUB for stability and strength in the years ahead.

The 2020 Annual Report, available here, provides a snapshot of what Your Independent Consumer Voice worked on during the pandemic.

The report thanks loyal CUB members who helped CUB manage through challenging times after a wrenching funding cut in 2015, and discusses the transformation that’s been under way for the last few years to move consumer advocacy for utility customers forward.

CUB will provide an overview of 2020 accomplishments and progress so far this year during its virtual Annual Meeting and quarterly Board of Directors meeting, this Thursday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m. CUB members and the Wisconsin utility customers are welcome to attend, using this link.

Among the highlights:

•            CUB’s advocacy at the Public Service Commission yielded more than $150 million in savings for Wisconsin utility customers in 2020.
•            Act 24, passed in early 2021 by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, provides a better, more sustainable funding model for CUB, one that will accomplish more for customers in the years ahead.
•            CUB urged the PSC to obtain better data on household energy burdens. In response, the PSC required utilities to file more detailed county-by-county data on household energy burden. CUB also collaborated with utilities on forgiveness programs for customers struggling the most.
•            The clean energy transition is changing how we get our energy, but the utilities’ path forward won’t necessarily be the most cost-effective. The road to a cleaner energy future must  be affordable and give consumers more options on how they power their homes and businesses.
•            CUB welcomes its newest board member, Heather Goetsch. Goetsch, a resident of Whitefish Bay, is associate director of the U.S. Green Building Council, focusing primarily on individual membership development. She’s looking forward to helping CUB expand its capacity in the areas of outreach and engagement in the years ahead. Heather was elected to a three-year term. The remaining members of the board are Eileen Hannigan, Madison; John Hendrick, Madison; Joel Dresang, Shorewood; Carol Stemrich, Verona; and Andrew Hartinger, Wauwatosa.