6 months ago
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Proposed electricity rate hikes, hitting low-income households especially hard, are the subject of public hearings this week in Milwaukee and Racine.
For 2025, We Energies has sought a 9.2% rate increase for most residential customers, followed by an 8.5% increase in 2026. If the increases are approved by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, the typical monthly residential electric bill would rise from around $128 to $152.
The Racine public hearings are Tuesday, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Community Center Gym, 2221 Douglas Ave. The Milwaukee public hearings are Thursday, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., at the Drury Plaza Hotel, 700 N. Water St.
Participation by Zoom is available for both sets of hearings. People who can't make it to one of the Milwaukee or Racine hearings can submit a comment online anytime through Oct. 7.
We Energies has sought an additional $418.6 million from its customers over the next two years to cover rising costs associated with building new sources of power generation; grid improvements, inflation and labor.
It amplifies a two-decade trend in which residential electricity cost increases have risen at more than twice the rate of inflation since 2005, according to an analysis by Wisconsin Citizens Utility Board, a nonprofit watchdog group.
“These proposed increases are outrageous and must be viewed in the light of (We Energies') authorized increases over the past few years,” Milwaukee Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic said in written testimony submitted to the commission.
Rate increases are especially hard on low-income families where energy costs can consume as much as 20% of a household budget, according to an analysis by the Sierra Club – Wisconsin Chapter.
Rate increase unsustainable, Bay View alder says
“This is not sustainable,” said Dimitrijevic, whose 14th Aldermanic District includes the Bay View neighborhood.
“The city is home to thousands of moderate and low-income residents who can least afford another We Energies rate increase and certainly not one of this magnitude,” she added.
Investments in renewable and clean energy have been the primary driver behind rate increases.
Looking at 2025 alone, 70% of the new revenue sought, or $167 million, is to begin payments for newly completed solar power projects and the purchase of a share of the generating capacity of Alliant Energy's West Riverside natural gas plant.
Bills are also coming due on We Energies' efforts to improve the electric grid's reliability and resilience to storm damage.
Burying power lines, more aggressive removal of dead and dying trees, and other improvements authorized by the commission in 2022 account for about $71 million of the new costs the utility has sought to recover.
