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Citizens Utility Board Loses Funding For Ratepayer Advocacy

GOP Lawmakers Vote Away Grant Used For Challenges To Utility Companies

By
arbyreed (CC-BY-NC)

Republicans on the state Legislature’s budget committee voted Wednesday to cut funding to a group that advocates for lower consumer utility bills.

GOP lawmakers voted to cut a ratepayer-funded grant for the Citizens Utility Board, known as CUB, and they voted to force groups like CUB to spend more of their own money on expert witnesses when they challenge utility companies. River Hills Sen. Alberta Darling said businesses targeted by those challenges would like this change.

“We’re talking about the cost of doing business in Wisconsin,” Darling said.

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But CUB Executive Director Kira Loehr said after the vote that utilities would still be able to use ratepayer money to pay their attorneys.

“They can go into these rate cases and these construction cases with lawyers costing $400 an hour or more and make the case they want to spend as much of Wisconsin ratepayers’ money as they want and now their opposing voice was just silenced,” Loehr said.

The plan was not in Gov. Walker’s original budget.