Solar Energy Supporters Rally Outside Energy Company’s Headquarters

About 50 supporters of solar energy gathered outside the Milwaukee headquarters of We Energies, Wisconsin’s largest electric company, on Monday evening to protest proposed rate changes

We Energies is one of three electric utilities in the state proposing to raise the fixed rates on customer’s bills. The company also wants to cut payments to people who generate their own solar power.

Ed Zinthefer, a resident of the eastern Wisconsin town of Plymouth, is an electrical contractor whose company installs solar panels. He said if the We Energies proposal goes through, customer orders may dwindle and he may have to lay off some people.

“Our solar installation crew would sit idle or not have a job at all,” Zinthefer said. “We’d be forced to downsize.”

Despite the rally outside its headquarters, We Energies doesn’t appear ready to back down. Said company spokesman Brian Manthey: “All we’re asking is fairness. So there is a fair payment of the grid or system that is used.”

In other words, Manthey said, the electrical grid needs upkeep, even if solar energy customers use it less. A Public Service Commission hearing for parties in the case is scheduled for next week.