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We Energies rate hike, Milwaukee to study feasibility of utility takeover
Milwaukee's Common Council takes aim at We Energies after the news of another rate hike. They approved more than a million dollars to look into replacing the region's electric and gas company. FOX6's Jason Calvi explains what comes next.
MILWAUKEE - A day after Wisconsin regulators approved a sixth rate hike in six years for We Energies customers, the Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously to pay for a study about taking over the utility. The proposal for a study still needs the mayor’s approval.
Feasibility study approved
What To Know:
"Either they not worried about us or they daring us, either way it goes, I don’t like the disrespect," Alderman Russell Stamper said about the most recent rate hike.
"If you're sick of the way We Energies operates, if you are sick and tired about what's going on, what you have to say right now when we take the vote on this is yes," said Milwaukee Alderman Alex Brower, who sponsored the legislation. "You will send a message to them."
The Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously 15 to 0 on Friday, Nov. 6 to allow borrowing for up to $1.35 million for a feasibility study about taking over We Energies. It could still meet the partial veto pen of the mayor.
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"Passing this feasibility study right now and voting yes, is a shot across the bow of We Energies," Brower said. "If this motion fails today, We Energies will know that their power is cemented in this city. If they win today, they will know their power is cemented, they will know they can charge whatever they want."
The local Democratic Socialist of America chapter has been working on this issue for years. On Friday, Brower, a Democratic Socialist alderman, successfully saw all of his colleagues agree to the study.
We Energies reaction
What To Know:
We Energies’ spokesman Brendan Conway said the utility was not part of the discussions on the proposal, which originally failed to pass committee with a vote of two for, two against and one abstention.
"I think we would have appreciated the opportunity to talk with the city before they took this vote," Conway said. "I think that would have been helpful for everyone, including the taxpayers in Milwaukee, who are now going to spend $1.3 million on this feasibility study."
He pointed to other cities that have considered the option of taking over the power company.
"In every single situation is these cities, they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. In this case, the City of Milwaukee is looking to spend about $1.3 million to study if they should take over their local utility," Conway said. "And in the end, they're going to find that it's going to probably cost billions and billions of dollars. And then when they go to voters, voters are likely going to reject it."
Ann Arbor, Michigan voters this week did just that: they rejected a proposal to set up their own power company.
How the process works
Big picture view:
Friday's vote in Milwaukee isn’t the end of the story. Mayor Cavalier Johnson will still have the chance to use his partial veto pen to scrap this proposal from the 2027 budget.
If it does make it into the city’s final budget, then the city would issue a request for proposals for a feasibility study. It includes a footnote that a task force be called upon to help draft what goes into the request for proposals.
State law says if a municipality wants to take over a utility plant, voters will have to approve in a referendum. The city would then have to take the issue to court, and a jury or judge would have to decide whether the takeover is necessary.
We Energies rate hike approved by Wisconsin regulators
We Energies customers will see their bills increase after the Public Service Commission approved a rate increase on Thursday.
Rate hike
Local perspective:
We Energies defended the latest rate hike. It said the revenue is needed for a number of reasons ranging from new solar and wind energy projects to infrastructure upgrades and rising operating costs.
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"Our costs are rate increases since 2020 are still even with inflation," Conway said. "So despite the fact that we're dealing with some of the most inflationary products, we're still able to keep our costs down."
We Energies said they estimate residential customers’ typical electric bill will go up between $7 and $8 per month in 2027 and another $6 to $7 per month in 2028.
"Our typical customer bills are below the national average and in line with customers across the Midwest," the utility said in a statement. "That will remain true in the coming years."
"We will be sending a message to them that we are seriously considering that their days being numbered in this town," Brower added.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from We Energies, The Clean Economy Coalition of Wisconsin, Brendan Conway, Russell Stamper and Alex Brower.