Renewable Energy Advocate Testifies Against Utility Rate Change

Don Wichert Says Power Companies Should Not Be Allowed To Give Customers Higher Fixed Charge

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Valley Power Plant, a coal-fired power station owned by We Energies in Milwaukee. Photo: Michael Pereckas (CC-BY-NC-SA).

At a Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing on Tuesday, a renewable energy advocate testified that power use and energy bills may go up in the state if some electric companies succeed with controversial rate proposals.

Three companies — Madison Gas & Electric, We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service — want to roughly double the fixed charge on their customers’ monthly bill, though some want to reduce what people pay for electricity per kilowatt hour.

Don Wichert, a board member of RENEW Wisconsin, said the change would encourage people to use more energy, and cause coal and natural-gas burning utilities to emit more greenhouse gases and build more transmission lines.

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Wichert also said increasing the use of those fossil fuels would mean more dollars leaving Wisconsin.

“We’re a state that has to import all of our energies,” said Wichert in an interview. “The more energy that we use, the more dollars we’re going to be spending out of this state.”

Wichert was the only person to testify at the hearing on the Strategic Energy Assessment, a PSC energy needs forecast. Wichert urged the agency to alter the assessment based on the three power companies’ recently filed rate cases. Wichert also told the hearing that solar energy should get a fair shake at filling additional energy needs, at least during peak demand times.

“Recently in Minnesota there was a request for a new peaking power plant,” said Wichert. “And based on price alone, a solar-distributed power plant … was chosen as the most economic.”

The power companies say they need the rate changes because of higher fuel and transmission costs, inflation and projects to reduce power outages.

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