Utility company We Energies is proposing a its third rate-hike in as many years for its Wisconsin customers, citing the costs from shutting down fossil fuel plants and the integration of renewables.
The company filed proposed rates for review by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW), which will set the rates for electricity, as well as natural gas and steam service, for the years 2025 and 2026.
We Energies cites three major reasons for their proposed hike in their press release, “reducing customer outages, building infrastructure needed to support jobs and economic growth in Wisconsin, and meeting new EPA environmental rules.”
“Recover costs” From Renewables
Though We Energies says some of that increased cost will go toward hardening their grid against bad weather, including burying lines and tree-trimming efforts, most of rate increase is for renewables-related costs, We Energies admits in their release.
“The vast majority of the filing is to recover costs of renewable and low-carbon power plants the PSCW has already approved,” the company said.
If the PSCW approves the increase, the company says the typical monthly bill will increase $10 to $11 per month in 2025. Natural gas customers will see a $6 to $8 per month increase.
Skeptical of Savings
A company spokesman, Brendan Conway, told Fox6 News Milwaukee that long-term savings are expected.
“We expect a long-term customer savings of about $2 billion over 20 years,” Conway said.
But if long-term savings are really expected from renewables projects, that should be reflected in customer bill projections, says James Taylor, president of The Heartland Institute.
“Every time utilities propose a wind or solar project, they request a substantial rate hike to cover the costs—and they almost always get it,” Taylor said. “If ratepayers will truly save $2 billion over 20 years, why isn’t WE Energies requesting a $100 million per year rate cut?”
Renewable Increases Track Rate Hikes
The average cost of electricity in the United States has closely tracked increases in the amount of wind and solar power generation added to the system, Taylor points out.
“Since January 2021, there has been a nearly 20 percent increase in wind and solar generation in the USA,” Taylor said. “Not coincidentally, the average cost of electricity has also risen nearly 20 percent.”
States that produce a significant portion of their electricity from coal, one of the resources We Energies has been working to shut down, have electricity rates that are much lower than the national average, Taylor says.
“Meanwhile, 18 states generate at least one-quarter of their power from coal, and all 18 have electricity rates below the national average,” said Taylor. “WE Energies calling fossil fuel power ‘less efficient’ is like a restaurant calling a steamed vegetable medley ‘less nutritious’ than a fried burger with bacon and mayonnaise—all while the restaurant gets massive kickbacks on the burgers it sells.”
Linnea Lueken (llueken@heartland.org) is a research fellow with the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at The Heartland Institute.
For more on renewable energy, click here.
For more on electric utilities, click here.
