MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A coalition of environmental, health and community groups are urging Wisconsin regulators to reject proposed We Energies rate increases for 2027 and 2028, arguing customers are already struggling with the cost of electricity.
Wisconsin Conservation Voters held a news conference Monday outside the We Energies office in downtown Milwaukee, joined by representatives from Healthy Climate Wisconsin, Faith in Place, Walnut Way and Milwaukee County Supervisor Anne O’Connor.
We Energies is seeking increases that the utility says would raise a typical residential electric bill by about $13 per month in 2027 and another $8 to $9 per month in 2028.
Wisconsin Conservation Voters southeast organizer Ian Schmidt Ernst describes the proposal as roughly a 14% increase and says it would mark the sixth increase for We Energies customers since 2020.
“People are sick of We Energies rate hikes,” said Ernst.
The organization says it has helped customers send more than 1,000 messages to We Energies CEO Scott Lauber opposing additional increases.
“Keep energy affordable. Stop raising rates on Wisconsin families,” said Laura Lane with Faith in Place, who called on the Public Service Commission to reject the proposal.
Julia Alberth with Healthy Climate Wisconsin argued that rising energy costs can force families to make difficult decisions involving other necessities.
“When communities experience high energy burden, they are forced to make impossible decisions to choose between basic human needs,” Alberth said.
We Energies: Investments aimed at reliability, long-term savings
We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway told WTMJ the utility understands the concerns surrounding higher bills but says much of the requested increase would cover costs for projects that regulators have already approved and that are now entering service.
Conway said that includes about $600 million in new renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and battery storage. He said those investments are intended to replace older, less-efficient generation and produce savings over the longer term.
The utility says its broader proposal also includes investments in burying power lines, trimming trees and replacing aging equipment to reduce outages and improve reliability.
“No one wants to see rising energy bills. We understand that,” Conway told WTMJ. “That’s why our filing included so many customer savings.”
We Energies also maintains that costs associated with serving large data centers will not be passed along to other customers. Under its proposal, the company says data centers would pay nearly $1.9 billion in 2027 and 2028 toward the infrastructure, equipment and energy needed to serve them.
PSC will make final decision
The proposal will be reviewed by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), which will determine how much, if any, of the requested increase is approved.
A public hearing is scheduled for September 1, with sessions at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Marquette University’s Alumni Memorial Union and a virtual participation option.
A decision by the PSC is expected later this year, with any approved new rates taking effect in January 2027.
