Overview
- The three-member Public Service Commission voted after a roughly 10-hour session on Thursday to approve smaller electric rate increases for We Energies than the company requested.
- The commission reduced We Energies’ request to 3.9 percent in 2027 and 3.5 percent in 2028.
- WEC Energy Group estimates a typical We Energies residential customer will pay about $7 to $8 more per month in 2027 and $6 to $7 more in 2028, but the PSC has not yet set final dollar amounts.
- Customers and advocates say the decision still hurts families who have already seen a roughly 33 percent rise in typical We Energies bills from 2022 to 2026 and higher statewide bills since 2020.
- Regulators cut some utility costs charged to ratepayers, such as lowering the authorized profit rate and removing certain board expenses, yet commissioners and consumer groups say state law limits the PSC’s tools and the vote has triggered calls for legislative reform and a $1.3 million Milwaukee study on creating a city-owned utility.