MILWAUKEE – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) approved a rate increase for We Energies today, which will be lower than the massive 16% increase the utility requested, but still challenging for Wisconsin families and small businesses facing higher bills.

While the PSC’s decision to reduce We Energies’ hefty rate increase is a meaningful step toward holding the utility accountable and protecting customers from excessive costs, the decision underscores the need for a new approach at the Public Service Commission, stronger protections against repeated rate increases and broader reform that puts affordable clean energy ahead of utility profits.

“We recognize the PSC's efforts to reduce the proposed increase, but this is still an unaffordable rate increase for our community," said Antonio Butts, executive director of Walnut Way Conservation Corp., an intervenor in the case. "Any increase lands hardest where families are already losing service. We Energies' own data shows a 23% disconnection rate in ZIP code 53206 in 2024, more than double the Milwaukee rate. Families need an income-based discount, shared-system costs assigned to the largest customers, annual public reporting of shutoffs by ZIP code, and an end to utility profits set above what investors actually require.”

The decision follows years of rising energy costs for Wisconsin families while utilities continue to report record profits. We Energies' request marked its sixth consecutive annual rate increase since 2020, with the utility seeking an additional $480 million over two years. Meanwhile, its parent company, WEC Energy Group, reported more than $1.6 billion in profits in 2025, with its earnings per share increasing 8% over the previous year.

The rate increase also raises broader concerns about utility spending as companies like We Energies, WPS and Alliant pursue billions of dollars in dirty, expensive methane gas infrastructure to power data centers. We Energies has every financial incentive to build more expensive infrastructure because it can earn profits on approved capital investments, even as customers face increasingly unaffordable bills. Rather than allowing the utility to build as much as possible to maximize its returns, Wisconsin must first determine what infrastructure is actually needed and ensure utilities earn only reasonable profits on necessary investments.

“Energy unaffordability is a public health crisis that disproportionately impacts Milwaukee’s Black and Latino neighborhoods, who experience twice the energy burden of white neighborhoods,” said Julia Alberth, MPH, health equity coordinator at Healthy Climate Wisconsin. “The current utility business model, which guarantees a return on equity on expensive energy infrastructure and raises our rates, is not working for our health. We need a new system that ties incentives to health-promoting metrics, like more clean energy and reduced shutoffs.”

These projects will drive bills even higher while making air pollution worse and increasing public health impacts. We Energies' push to advance costly projects without sufficient transparency and comprehensive planning risks leaving customers responsible for unnecessary infrastructure, poor decisions and cost overruns.

The PSC's decision did include several meaningful victories for Wisconsin ratepayers. Commissioners reduced We Energies' authorized return on equity from 9.9% to 9.5%, maintained the utility's existing equity ratio, and rejected millions in board of directors’ fees that would otherwise have been passed on to customers. Commissioners also decided to eliminate profits on project cost overruns and scale back profits on stranded costs. While the PSC could have gone further, these decisions represent significant progress toward holding utilities accountable and protecting Wisconsin families from unnecessary costs.

“Prior to this increase, We Energies customers were already facing some of the highest energy burdens in the state. We have to stop accepting higher energy bills as inevitable,” said Britnie Remer, organizing director at 350 Wisconsin. “Wisconsin needs stronger utility accountability and investments in affordable, reliable clean energy that shift us away from dependence on harmful fossil fuels to keep costs down for families and businesses.”

The decision came on the heels of David Crowley's election as the state’s next governor. Crowley has promised to address utility influence at the PSC, champion an Integrated Resource Planning process, promote cheaper clean energy, stop subsidizing data centers through preferential tax treatment, and address the cost of utilities. Coalition partners are urging Governor-elect Crowley and the Legislature to follow through by passing clean energy incentives, Integrated Resource Planning, and utility accountability legislation early in the next session.