September 9, 2024

Take Action Now: Speak Out Against We Energies’ Proposed Rate Hike

Submit a public comment by October 7th to demand the Public Service Commission holds We Energies accountable for its greed!

Blog Last Updated 9/16/2024 at 2:30 PM

If you’re a We Energies customer, or if you care about energy affordability, it’s time to make your voice heard. We Energies, an investor-owned utility serving primarily southeastern Wisconsin, has proposed its third rate increase in the past three years—and it’s a big one (Docket No. 05-UR-111).

If its new request is approved, household utility rates in We Energies’ service area will increase a whopping 18.5% over the next two years, according to the Citizens Utility Board (CUB). The average We Energies customer could expect to pay an extra $12/month starting in 2025, and another $12/month starting in 2026 – for a total increase of $24 per month.

In the absence of any meaningful low-income affordability program, and given the utility’s history of frequent rate increases and proposals for costly new fossil fuel projects that ratepayers are expected foot the bill for, this increase would be particularly harmful. You have the power to influence the Public Service Commission (PSC)’s decision – submit your public comment by October 7!

Submit your comment!

We’ve provided some sample comment language and talking points below, and we encourage you to make it your own. Your comment will have much greater power if it’s written in your own words and brings in your own personal experiences, stories, and concerns. 

Submit a public comment
WHEN: August 26-October 7
WHERE: Online comment form or via U.S. mail*

*U.S. Mail at:
Docket 5-UR-111 Comments
Public Service Commission
P.O. Box 7854
Madison, WI 53707-7854

Testify at a public hearing

Racine Public Hearing
WHEN: Tuesday, October 1 at 2 PM, 6 PM
WHERE: Cesar Chavez Community Center Gym 2221 Douglas Avenue, Racine / Zoom
Sign up to attend via Sierra Club!

Milwaukee Public Hearing
WHEN: Thursday, October 3 at 1 PM, 6 PM
WHERE: Great Lakes Ballroom Drury Plaza Hotel, 700 N Water Street, Milwaukee / Zoom
Sign up to attend via Sierra Club!

Rally – March to the Milwaukee Public Hearing
WHERE: Thursday, October 3, 12:00 pm
WHEN: meet at Zeidler Union Park, 301 W Michigan St, Milwaukee and march to the public hearing at the Drury Plaza Hotel. Sign up here!

Help Spread the Word!
Sierra Club and North Side Rising will be distributing flyers to Racine and Milwaukee residents to spread the word about the hearings. Sign up below!

Milwaukee Lit Drop
WHEN: Thursday, September 26, 6:00 pm
WHERE: starting at Citizen Action in Milwaukee
Sign up here!

Racine Lit Drop
WHEN: Saturday, September 28, 12:00 noon
WHERE: starting at the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Community Center in Racine
Sign up here!

Learn More
Sierra Club will be hosting a webinar to review We Energies’ gas and rate increase proposal, who makes the decision on this proposal, and how to use your personal experience to help inform the decision that’s being made about your electric bill and power source!

Affordable Energy Bills – A webinar on how to stand up for fair utility bills
WHEN: Tuesday, September 24, 7:00 pm CT
WHERE: Virtual – RSVP here

Talking Points

    • Over the past two decades, customers’ bills have more than doubled at a rate faster than inflation.
    • In the past two years alone, We Energies has increased its residential energy rates more than 13%. This would be We Energies’ third rate increase in the past three years.
    • If this request is approved, residential We Energies customers’ rates will increase a whopping 18.5% over the next two years.
    • The average We Energies customer could expect to pay an extra $12/month starting in 2025, and another $12/month starting in 2026 – for a total increase of $24/month in energy bills.
    • We Energies’ current proposal follows a PSC decision in 2022 to reduce We Energies’ return on equity from 10% for electric and 10.2% on gas to 9.8%. In its new proposal, We Energies wants to reverse the decision and hike its return on equity back to 10% – once again bringing in record profits for shareholders while ratepayers suffer, many with severe energy burden.
  • We Energies customers are still paying the $2.3 billion price tag for the company’s Oak Creek “Power the Future” coal plant completed in 2011.
  • The Oak Creek coal plant was the most expensive construction project in the history of the state, and shareholders earned about a 12.5% rate of return – and they’re still profiting from it.
  • We Energies continues to propose costly new fossil fuel projects, with ratepayers footing the bill while shareholders profit – currently there are dockets open for converting the Oak Creek coal plant to fossil gas (Docket No. 6630-CE-317), and building a new gas-fired generating station in the Town of Paris (Docket No. 6630-CE-316).
  • The Oak Creek conversion project hasn’t even been approved, and WEC Energy Group (We Energies’ parent company) is proposing to start charging We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation ratepayers to finance the project (Docket No. 05-AF-109).
  • When fossil gas becomes obsolete, these projects will become stranded assets and customers will still be on the hook for the massive cost.
  • This increase has the potential to devastate ratepayers already experiencing severe energy burden – especially in the absence of a low-income affordability program (like a Percent Income Payment Program, or PIPP). 
  • When households have a high energy burden, they spend more than 6% of their income on energy costs and for those with a severe energy burden, this percentage exceeds 10%. 
    • Families with high energy burdens often have to make difficult choices—prioritizing energy bills over other necessities like food, healthcare, or education. 
    • These challenges result in income stress, adverse health outcomes, and a greater risk of displacement. 
    • Low-income households, BIPOC communities, renters, seniors, single-parent households, and those living on a fixed-income are especially vulnerable to severe energy burden.
  • In April of 2021, several organizations released the Energy Burden in Milwaukee report, and this year, the Sierra Club-Wisconsin published a report update. These reports explore the impacts that We Energies’ frequent rate increases and costly fossil fuel projects have had on the people of Milwaukee. 
    • Low income households that fall below 1.5 times the federal poverty level are spending as much as 20-26% of their income on energy bills – up from 15-20% in 2021. 
  • Racial disparities in energy burden in Milwaukee remain among the highest in the nation. Black and Hispanic/Latino neighborhoods each experience more than 2x the energy burden of white neighborhoods.
    • Black residents make up 16% of Milwaukee’s metro population and 65% of the population of high-burden neighborhoods. Likewise, Hispanic/Latino residents are 11% of the metro population but are 19% of the high-burden neighborhood population.
    • Historic and modern-day systemic racism, discriminatory housing practices like redlining, racial segregation, and differences in the quality of housing stock (older, energy-inefficient homes) in Milwaukee are major contributors to these disparities. 
    • We Energies’ frequent, high rate increases and lack of a meaningful low-income affordability program exacerbate this injustice.
  • Climate change has and will continue to exacerbate energy burden, increasing the frequency and severity of both extreme heat and extreme cold.
  • Stories of Climate Change and Energy Burden Impacts shares the stories of several Milwaukee residents struggling with severe energy burden. If you have a personal story – whether you’ve personally experienced energy burden, or you have a loved one who has –  consider including that story in your comment.
  • In March 2023, the Public Service Commission opened an investigation exploring the development of low-income assistance programs (specifically a Percentage of Income Payment Program, or PIPP) for the customers of WEC Energy Group (including We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service) – but this docket has stagnated.
    • The PSC ordered a pilot affordability program be proposed in the next We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation rate cases. We Energies’ next rate case is here, and a new affordability program is nowhere to be found.
  • Without a PIPP, energy-burdened We Energies ratepayers are left to pay the exorbitant energy bills no matter what percentage of their income they’re losing each month, while shareholders and executives profit. No rate increases should be authorized – especially not before there is a low-income assistance program in place.

Sample Comment and Other Resources

We encourage you to customize your comment, it’ll have an even greater impact! If you live in We Energies service territory, be sure to mention that in your comment. 

I am writing to express my strong opposition to We Energies’ proposed rate increase (Docket No. 05-UR-111). 

Over the past 2 years alone, We Energies has raised rates over 13 percent. This would be the third increase in three years, adding an additional 18.5% to customer bills by 2026. Customers have also been saddled with the costs of coal plants that have long since shut down, the cost of the renewable energy transition, and now We Energies wants them to pay for new fossil gas infrastructure – which shouldn’t be built in the first place. We Energies rates are too high for everyone, but especially low-income residents. People experiencing high energy burden already have to make difficult choices between affording groceries or paying for health care and heating and cooling their homes – another rate increase would be devastating. With increasing climate impacts, these disparities will only worsen. 

WEC Energy Group reported a net profit of $1.3 billion in 2023 – marking the 21st consecutive year that wealthy shareholders will receive higher dividends. Raking in double the revenue of the next most profitable utility in the state, WEC can certainly afford a much lower rate of return.

I urge you to reject the proposed rate increase and reduce We Energies’ authorized return on equity to protect all of its ratepayers – especially low-income ratepayers – from unaffordable energy bills, and take action to address disparate racial inequities as recommended by Roger Colton. I also ask that you implement a Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP), improve the Low Income Forgiveness Tool (LIFT), and expand energy efficiency opportunities to help alleviate energy burden for low-income households before any rate increases are approved. 

PSC:

Background:

Energy Burden in We Energies Service Territory

One may think that We Energies must need these rate increases to operate, but in reality, they need frequent rate increases to maintain profit margins for their wealthy shareholders. Wisconsin’s investor-owned utilities already make the fifth highest profit rates in the entire nation. WEC Energy Group – the shareholder group that owns We Energies – is the most profitable utility in Wisconsin, making more than double the revenue of the next most profitable utility. 

While millionaire shareholders of WEC Energy Group have continued to profit, We Energies ratepayers have suffered from unaffordable energy bills and severe energy burden. In fact, over the past two decades, customers’ bills have more than doubled at a rate faster than inflation. For many, especially those already struggling with severe energy burden, this increase is more than just an inconvenience—it’s potentially devastating. 

Energy Burden in Milwaukee

Households with a high energy burden spend more than 6% of their income on energy costs. For those with a severe energy burden, this percentage exceeds 10%. Families with high energy burdens often have to make difficult choices—prioritizing energy bills over other necessities like food, healthcare, or education. These challenges result in income stress, adverse health outcomes, and a greater risk of displacement. Low-income households, BIPOC communities, renters, seniors, single-parent households, and those living on a fixed-income are especially vulnerable to severe energy burden.

In April of 2021, several organizations (Alliance for Climate Education, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, North Side Rising, Voces de la Frontera, and Sierra Club’s Wisconsin Chapter) released the Energy Burden in Milwaukee report, and this year, the Sierra Club published a report update. These reports explore the impacts that We Energies’ frequent rate increases and costly fossil fuel projects have had on the people of Milwaukee. One of the report update’s findings is that since 2021, the median energy burden in Milwaukee has decreased slightly, but the lowest-income customers are even worse off than they were 3 years ago. Low income households that fall 1.5 times the federal poverty level are spending as much as 20-26% of their income on energy bills – up from 15-20% in 2021. 

What’s more, racial disparities in energy burden in Milwaukee are among the highest in the country, with Black residents making up 16% of Milwaukee’s metro population and 65% of high-burden neighborhoods. Likewise, Hispanic/Latino residents are 11% of the metro population but are 19% of the high-burden neighborhoods. Historic and present systemic racism, discriminatory housing practices like redlining, racial segregation, and differences in the quality of housing stock in Milwaukee are major contributors to these disparities. Historic and modern-day systemic racism, discriminatory housing practices like redlining, racial segregation, and differences in the quality of housing stock (older, energy-inefficient homes) in Milwaukee are major contributors to these disparities. And We Energies’ frequent, high rate increases and lack of a meaningful low-income affordability program exacerbate this injustice.

Keviea Guiden, Energy Burden Organizer with the Northside Rising Co-op, has been working to distribute resources, build collective power, and listen to and share the stories of her fellow residents – and she’s had first-hand experience with energy burden herself. “It’s outrageous,” Guiden said in an interview with TMJ4 News. “It’s utterly despicable, you know. The thing is that they’re getting richer.” One Milwaukee resident, Geneva Jones, has been subjected to energy bills that are about 20% of her income – more than 3x the threshold for energy burden. To read the stories of several other Milwaukee residents experiencing energy burden, check out the Wisconsin Climate Table’s  “Stories of Climate Change and Energy Burden Impacts” storymap.

Unresolved Affordability Investigation

In March of 2023, the PSC opened an investigation exploring the development of low-income assistance programs (including a Percentage of Income Payment Program, or PIPP program) for the customers of WEC Energy Group (including We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service). A PIPP program would cap utility bills at a certain percentage of household income, rather than forcing customers to pay disproportionate amounts of their monthly income on energy.

“All across our city, across our state, there are individuals currently paying anywhere between 6 to 20 percent (of their income) each month, just to cook their food and warm their house,” said Montre Moore, Chair of Walnut Way Conservation Corps’ Environmental Justice and Infrastructure Initiative, in a listening session. “We have to — as a community — come together and force our utilities to do better, our Public Service Commission to hear us out and move this problem in a new direction.”

Without a PIPP program, energy-burdened We Energies ratepayers are left to pay the exorbitant energy bills no matter what percentage of their income they’re losing each month, while shareholders and executives profit. No rate increases should be authorized – especially not before there is a low-income assistance program in place.

We Energies is Making Record Profits

We Energies customers have seen their bills double over the past two decades, at a rate faster than inflation. Meanwhile, WEC’s annual revenue has more than doubled over the past decade (rising on average more than 8% annually over the last 5 years). “Shareholders of WEC Energy Group have enjoyed profits that are the highest in the state and well above the national average,” said the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin in a press release. 

In 2023, WEC Energy Group was named the fourth largest publicly traded company in the state. While companies like Kohl’s have to battle other businesses to make their money, WEC is a legal monopoly with no real competitors. In the same year, WEC reported a net profit of $1.3 billion – marking the 21st consecutive year that the company will reward its shareholders with higher dividends. 

These shareholders include WEC Energy Group’s President and CEO Scott J. Lauber, who took home 73 times what WEC’s median employee made. Lauber’s annual earnings totaled more than $9.5 million in 2023. Executive Chairman Gale Klappa also brought home roughly $9 million, with several other executives making $2-4 million – and WEC’s top 6 executives totaling $31.2 million.

It’s wrong that We Energies ratepayers have to choose between paying their energy bills and buying groceries, while WEC’s wealthy shareholders make massive returns. Let’s stand together and push back against unjust rate hikes and demand justice for utility ratepayers!

Submit your comment today!