Wisconsin families already paying more for housing, groceries, and health care could see another steep jump in electric bills if We Energies receives what it is requesting from the Public Service Commission.
Public hearings on the utility’s 2027-28 rate case, docket 5-UR-112, begin Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Marquette University’s Alumni Memorial Union in Milwaukee, with a Zoom option. The three-member PSC, whose current commissioners were appointed by Gov. Tony Evers, is scheduled to decide the case later this year.
We Energies, a WEC Energy Group subsidiary serving more than 1 million electric customers in Wisconsin, filed in April for a two-year package that would increase annual electric, natural gas, and steam by roughly $480 million once fully phased in. On the electric side, it is seeking a 4.6% system-average base-rate increase in 2027 and another 4.5% in 2028, for a total base-rate increase of 9.3%. For residential customers, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) estimates a 16.3% increase by 2028.
For a typical household using 660 kilowatt-hours per month, CUB estimates that a bill of about $144 today would rise roughly $260 per year in 2028. If approved, 2028 would mark the sixth consecutive year of higher We Energies rates. A recent CUB review of PSC billing data found that the typical residential bill rose 33% from 2022 through 2026.
Sister utility Wisconsin Public Service, also owned by WEC, has a separate two-year request pending in docket 6690-UR-129. WPS is seeking about $165 million in additional annual electric and natural gas revenue once both years are in effect, including $136.9 million in electric base-rate increases. Its system-average electric request is 6.3% in 2027 and another 3.5% in 2028, for a 10% increase over two years. Residential customers could see a 14.7% increase by January 2028.
We Energies says the money is needed for tree trimming, burying lines, replacing aging equipment, new generation including solar and battery projects, inflation, and higher fuel costs. Utilities are requesting a 9.9 percent return on equity. CUB is urging the PSC to cut that to 9.1 percent, a change CUB says would save We Energies customers more than $100 million in 2027 and a similar amount in 2028 with other measures. Wisconsin investor-owned utilities already receive the fifth-highest authorized returns in the country.
A WisPolitics review found that Evers-appointed PSC majorities approved about $2.2 billion in rate increases taking effect from 2021 through 2026, more than seven times the amount approved during a comparable period under former Gov. Scott Walker’s appointees. Families, renters, and small-business owners are already stretched. Adding another utility rate increase on top of earlier rate hikes makes the monthly budget tighter and Wisconsin less competitive.
Written comments in the We Energies case, docket 5-UR-112, are due by Sept. 18. Written comments in the WPS case, docket 6690-UR-129, are due by Oct. 5. Wisconsinites who cannot attend either hearing can still file comments through the PSC website.
The commission’s decisions, expected sometime in November, will show whether Evers’ appointees treat rising energy costs as a problem to be managed or rubber-stamp another round of utility rate requests on Wisconsin families and businesses.
