Council adopts legislation in opposition to We Energies’ 75/25 plan

Today (Tuesday, March 3), the Common Council unanimously adopted among members present file #251889 – a resolution expressing opposition to the Wisconsin Electric Power Company proposal before the Public Service Commission (PSC). The file, authored by Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, follows the Alderwoman’s written testimony to the PSC in opposition to the proposal. The file is co-sponsored by Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II, Alderman Robert J. Bauman, Alderman Alex Brower, Alderman José G. Pérez, Alderwoman Sharlen Moore, Alderperson JoCasta Zamarripa, Alderman Peter Burgelis, and Alderwoman Larresa Taylor.

The Wisconsin Electric Power Company has requested that the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approve a proposal that would establish a very large customer and bespoke resources tariff system, in the context of providing electricity to customers such as data centers. Under the current proposal, average customers could be left footing a portion of the bill for data centers.

“Large data center customers should be required to pay 100% of all incremental and fixed costs required to serve them, full stop,” said Alderwoman Dimitrijevic. “Currently, aspects of the proposal put average customers at risk of paying additional costs to support the electricity and infrastructure needs of large data centers. Because of this, it was necessary to put the city on record as objecting to this proposal unless it is substantially altered. Ratepayers have no business shouldering corporate risk.”

“Milwaukee families are already paying too much to keep the lights on, and we should not shift more financial risk onto residents,” said Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II. “We must also seriously examine the health and environmental factors associated with these large data centers. Our residents deserve to know the entire picture up front.”

The Executive Director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin previously noted concerns over loopholes believed to exist under the current proposal. Additionally, a utility auditor for the PSC testified to the PSC that if data centers use less power than expected, terminate service early, or leave the state, other customers could still be paying plant and fuel costs associated with the data centers.

According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, energy burdens above 6 percent are considered high. A 2021 report from Data You Can Use found that many low-income Milwaukee households spend 15 to 20 percent of their income on energy bills, far above the national median of roughly 3 percent. Council action today underscores the belief that this is unacceptable in a city where families are already struggling to afford basic utilities.

Alderwoman Dimitrijevic also authored legislation, introduced on Tuesday, to enact a pause on potential large-scale data center construction in the City. This pause would be intended to give the City time to develop comprehensive standards for large-scale data centers and ensure that this type of land use is compatible with the health, safety, and well-being of residents. The file will be heard before the Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee at a future meeting.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.