Record Profits, Rising Bills: Coalition Says ‘Enough Is Enough’ to We Energies 43% Cumulative Rate Hike
MILWAUKEE – On Monday, Aug. 24, Wisconsin Conservation Voters and allies held a press conference outside of the We Energies office in Milwaukee to demand that Wisconsinites are not hit with yet another unaffordable rate increase.
We Energies, which serves ratepayers in southeast Wisconsin and the Fox Valley, is attempting to raise rates on Wisconsinites by another 14 percent. If approved, this will be the sixth rate increase since 2020, raising bills on ratepayers by a crushing 43.4 percent over that time.
“From housing to healthcare to groceries to childcare, the skyrocketing cost of living is out of control,” said Ian Schmitt-Ernst, Southeast Organizer for Wisconsin Conservation Voters. “That’s why, for the last two months, Wisconsin Conservation Voters ran a campaign to help ratepayers tell We Energies to ‘take a hike!’ Starting in July, Wisconsin Conservation Voters helped We Energies ratepayers send more than 1,000 messages to CEO Scott Lauber demanding an end to the rate hikes. From digital ad engagement, to door-to-door canvassing, to being out in communities in northeast and southeast Wisconsin, one thing is clear: people are sick of We Energies rate hikes.”
“We should not be asking people to pay more and more for an energy future that continues to pollute, negatively impacts our health, and is built around someone else’s bottom line,” said Anne O’Connor, Milwaukee County Supervisor for District 1. “Our energy system should work for the financial and physical well-being of the people who power it with their hard-earned dollars.”
“We Energies is not being a good neighbor,” said Laura Lane, Wisconsin Outreach Director for Faith in Place. “Last year, while parents were choosing between feeding their children or keeping them warm in the winter or cool in the summer, We Energies raked in $1.6 billion dollars in profit and paid zero federal taxes. In that same year, We Energies CEO Scott Lauber was given more than a million dollar pay raise. We are here today to ask We Energies to be a good neighbor. Keep energy affordable. Stop raising rates on Wisconsin families while executives and shareholders reap the rewards.”
“Wisconsin families are struggling to make ends meet,” said Julia Alberth, Health Equity and Resilient Communities Coordinator with Healthy Climate Wisconsin. “We cannot afford a 14 percent increase on our energy bills. We Energies already has the third-highest residential electric rates in the Midwest among investor-owned utilities and a guaranteed profit rate of 9.8 percent for shareholders. Unaffordable energy bills are a public health crisis. Rising energy bills force families to choose between keeping the lights and heat on and affording groceries. Extreme heat can lead to heat stroke, and financial stress can worsen mental health and contribute to malnutrition. The risks are even greater for people who depend on energy-dependent medical devices.”
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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