In his latest press release, the governor claims his administration is committed to lowering energy costs and investing in Wisconsin’s energy future. But while the rhetoric might sound good, the reality hitting families’ mailboxes every month is undeniable: higher bills, fewer reliable energy options, and a system increasingly stacked against ratepayers.
Start with the Public Service Commission. Every single commissioner was appointed by Evers. Under their watch, more than $2 billion in utility rate increases have been rubber-stamped, with hundreds of millions more in rate hikes being requested by utilities as you read this. That’s not a rounding error for family budgets and small businesses across Wisconsin. These rate hikes are a direct hit on working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small businesses trying to stay afloat.
So, when the governor talks about affordability, it’s fair to ask: affordability for who? Because it certainly isn’t for the people and small businesses paying the bills.
The heart of the problem is the administration’s ideological push toward renewable energy at any cost. Wind and solar are heavily subsidized, politically favored, and relentlessly promoted. But they come with a fundamental problem that no press release can spin away. These energy sources are expensive, intermittent, and unreliable.
When the wind doesn’t blow, and the sun doesn’t shine, the lights still have to stay on. That means utilities must maintain backup generation, often powered by natural gas or coal, while also building out new renewable infrastructure. The result? Consumers are forced to pay for two systems instead of one.
That’s not innovation. That’s duplication, and it’s expensive.
To make matters worse, utilities continue to profit at the expense of families and businesses from power plants retired ahead of schedule to comply with these manufactured and fabricated renewable energy targets. Although these facilities have been shuttered and no longer supply energy to the state, ratepayers are still responsible for covering their costs, as well as the costs of the new wind and solar fields built to transition to alternative energy sources.
In other words, families and small businesses are paying for two systems to meet the demands of Gov. Evers and the environmental left for unreliable energy sources.
So, who has really benefited the most under Gov. Evers and the policies of the left?
Answer: The shareholders in which the utilities are beholden to protect.
That is not an accident. It is the predictable outcome of a regulatory system under the left that has prioritized political priorities ahead of economic reality, while the costs and risks are pushed onto ratepayers.
Gov. Evers can attempt to spin it however he wants. But in the real world, the story is simple: under Democratic policies, shareholders have been protected, utilities have received their returns, and Wisconsin families are stuck with the bill. If that is the left’s idea of progress, it is no wonder that so many people feel like they are falling behind.
