Madison, April 15, 2024 – WEC Energy Group utilities We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service Corp filed rate cases Friday April 12, 2024, with the Public Service Commission asking for increases of more than $800 million for customers in eastern and northern Wisconsin.
CUB is a member-supported, nonprofit organization that represents residential and small business utility customers before regulatory agencies, the legislature, and the courts. CUB advocates for reliable, affordable and safe utility service and educates consumers on matters relating to utility regulation and energy policy. Their experts will be digging in and looking hard for savings.
CUB will be looking to reduce the high return on equity or profit the two utilities are seeking in the case. “WEC Energy Group shareholders have done extremely well over the past 20 years at a time when costs for We Energies customers have doubled and risen faster than the cost of living,” said Tom Content, executive director of CUB. “Shareholders of WEC Energy Group have enjoyed profits that are the highest in the state and well above the national average. High profits drive up costs and cry out for a more balanced approach that keeps the concerns of customers paying the bills top of mind.”
Another issue for CUB is how to deal with shutting down old coal plants that are still in customers’ rates to make way for new solar and natural gas plants. “From the filing it appears that We Energies wants to have its cake and eat it too: They want to make money on all the new solar and natural gas plants they ‘re looking to build, and they want to keep profiting on coal plants long after they’re shut down,” continued Content. “Saddling hundreds of millions of dollars of additional costs on customers who are already paying among the highest prices in the Midwest for electricity is something the Public Service Commission will need to evaluate very carefully.”
CUB encourages homeowners, renters, and small businesses to raise their voice during public hearings this fall.
The Citizens Utility Board is a member-supported, nonprofit organization that advocates for efficient and reliable utility service at the lowest rates possible consistent with sound business principles. CUB represents the interests of Wisconsin’s residential, farm, and small business customers of electric and natural gas utilities before the Legislature, state and federal regulatory agencies, and the courts.
