In another victory for CUB and Wisconsin customers, the Public Service Commission rejected We Energies’ (WEPCO’s) request for the opportunity to recover an additional $19.7 million from customers to finance early expenditures related to natural gas generation and infrastructure that WEPCO hopes to build. The Milwaukee utility is in the process of developing applications for this portfolio of projects, but no projects have yet been approved by the Commission.
WEPCO’s somewhat muddled and unusual request stated that the preconstruction costs would benefit customers by reducing the overall cost of the gas portfolio, a claim that couldn’t be verified during the PSC’s review of the accounting request.
Dozens of comments opposing the request came from individuals and organizations. CUB’s comments noted that recovery from customers of pre-construction and pre-certification costs is not the norm and that the application did not offer any argument for why the requested special treatment was in the public interest. A majority of the PSC commissioners found that the application did not provide sufficient data to support the purported customer benefit, noting that requests such as this one require significant Commission attention and resources. All three Commissioners recognized the need for a consistent approach to analyzing requests for special accounting treatment, should such requests accelerate with the pace of the energy transition.
The Commission’s decision sends a clear message that utility requests to charge customers for financing need to be supported by evidence that such a financing arrangement is in the public interest.
CUB will continue to oppose utility proposals that raise customer costs without a demonstrable benefit for customers. Unjustified cost shifts from utility shareholders to captive customers are not in the public interest.
This win comes weeks after CUB won a win when the PSC denied We Energies’ request for an extra $25 million in tree trimming costs that weren’t included in the price increases that took effect over the last two years. Our small regulatory team is focused on savings as well as a strong regulatory process for upcoming cases, including the big rate cases now under way. Support the CUB team’s PSC work today by donating here.