This post originally appeared at https://wisconsindailystar.com/news/republican-state-senator-hopes-for-skepticism-in-possible-wisconsin-utility-rate-hikes/tcsquare/2023/08/20/

by Benjamin Yount

One Wisconsin Republican state senator wants the state’s Public Service Commission to “do their job,” and question a half-billion-dollar utility rate increase.

Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday that Wisconsin’s utility regulators are weighing rate hike requests for 2024 that range from 1.6% to 8.4%.

“Wisconsin’s residential electricity rates consistently ranks 2nd highest in the Midwest and in the top 15 highest in the nation. As a state, we should be doing everything we can to keep costs down,” Stroebel said.The PSC will decide by December on requests from the major utilities in Wisconsin.

We Energies, which serves the Milwaukee metro, along with Alliant Energy and Madison Gas & Electric which serve the Madison area, and Xcel Energy’s Northern States Power Co., which serves the northwestern part of the state, are all asking for electric rate increases.

Just one company, Wisconsin Public Service Corp., which serves Green Bay, is asking to decrease rates.

The utilities say the rate hikes are necessary to cover costs of new solar farms and new renewable energy projects being built, as well as investments in new natural gas facilities.

The utilities are also looking to recoup costs, according to the filings with the PSC, and some are looking to increase returns on investment.

Stroebel (pictured above) called that interesting.

“Wisconsinites continue to suffer from the left’s failed energy policy,” Stroebel added. “[Gov. Tony] Evers’ appointees at the Public Service Commission could transfer large sums from the pockets of ratepayers to investor-owned utilities. Let’s hope they do their job and be skeptical.”

The proposed rate hikes come after the PSC raised utility rates last December. In the case of We Energies, that rate hike was more than 11%.

The utilities at the time asked for a delay in other rate increases so they could get a better handle on what 2023 prices would be.

Wisconsin’s Citizens Utility Board criticized the rate hikes last year.

“The PSC commissioners had a chance to bring down the size of this rate hike even further and missed an opportunity to limit this to a single-digit increase for residential customers,” Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin said. “It’s disappointing because customers were so vocal in coming out to oppose a double-digit rate hike at the hearings.”

CUB is opposing the latest rate hikes as well.

The Public Service Commission is not saying when it will finalize next year’s electric rates.

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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Duey Stroebel” by Duey Stroebel.

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