Clean Energy Advocates, Experts Call on PSC to Protect Ratepayers From We Energies’ Proposed Rate Hikes
Wisconsin families and small businesses could shoulder the cost of a $480 million rate hike over two years while the utility rakes in record profits
MILWAUKEE – Today, the Public Service Commission (PSC) will hear public feedback on We Energies‘ proposal for a 16% rate hike starting in 2027, totaling $480 million over two years. If approved, the increase would mark the utility’s sixth since 2020. The rate hike follows We Energies’ request for a combined $605 million for 2025 and 2026.
The proposed increase comes as We Energies reports record profits and would make energy bills even more expensive for Wisconsin families and small businesses. At a time when the cost of living continues to pressure household budgets, another significant increase in utility costs would make it harder for families to afford necessities such as food, medication, health care and housing.
“Wisconsinites are being asked to pay more and more just to keep the lights on, while We Energies is already reporting more than a billion dollars in profits,” said Cassie Steiner, senior campaign coordinator at Sierra Club Wisconsin. “At some point, the question has to be: How much is enough? Families are not an unlimited source of revenue, and We Energies should not treat them like one.”
If the proposed rate increase is approved, it would add $14.67 — a 10.28% increase — to the average customer’s bill in 2027, and another $8.69, or 5.52%, in 2028. Customers’ bills have more than doubled over the past 25 years, at a rate faster than inflation. Meanwhile, income and wealth disparities between the wealthiest Wisconsinites and everyone else continue to grow.
“We Energies seems to think the answer to rising costs is simple: send the bill to Wisconsin families,” said Elizabeth Hittman, associate director of policy at Elevate. “But families shouldn’t have to pay more so a utility that is already making record profits can make even more. Every Wisconsin resident deserves access to clean and affordable heat, cooling and power in their homes and communities.”
Clean energy experts and advocates are calling on the PSC to protect ratepayers by scrutinizing excessive utility profits, preserving energy affordability for residents and ensuring executive compensation is not paid for by customers. That means shielding residents from subsidizing large power users and stranded plant costs, establishing a real income-based monthly bill discount, requiring annual public reporting on shutoffs and bill burden by ZIP code and holding the utility accountable for cost overruns.
“We Energies will have lawyers in that room from one o’clock until the gavel drops, and every hour of their time is already on our bills,” said Antonio Butts, executive director at Walnut Way Conservation Corp. “A mother who takes off work to speak for two minutes loses pay to be there. That is not a level hearing. It is a hearing where one side is being paid to attend, and the other side is paying for the privilege.”
The PSC will hold public hearings for the We Energies rate case (Docket 5-UR-112) today, Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. and will accept public comments on the case through Sept. 18. Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), which also operates under parent company WEC Energy Group and serves northeastern Wisconsin, is requesting a 14.7% rate hike with its own PSC hearing Sept. 29 in Green Bay.
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.
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