For Immediate Release – November 18, 2016
For More Information: Tyler Huebner, Executive Director, 608-255-4044 ext 1
For More Information: Tyler Huebner, Executive Director, 608-255-4044 ext 1
(Madison, WI). In today’s open meeting, the Public Service Commission
sharply hiked the monthly “fixed charge” that Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin Power
& Light residential electricity customers will face by 95%, from $7.67 per
month up to $15 per month.
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| The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin building in Madison. |
The “fixed charge” is the base fee which all customers must
pay each month, no matter how much energy they use. Overall, Alliant’s residential customers will
see their monthly electricity bills increase by 4-5%.
pay each month, no matter how much energy they use. Overall, Alliant’s residential customers will
see their monthly electricity bills increase by 4-5%.
By contrast, the fixed charge that Alliant’s Iowa customers
must pay every month remains at $10.50.
“Increasing the fixed charge will raise bills for customers
that use smaller amounts of electricity monthly, such as seniors,
apartment-dwellers, and energy-conscious customers including those who have
installed solar panels,” said Tyler Huebner, RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive
Director.
that use smaller amounts of electricity monthly, such as seniors,
apartment-dwellers, and energy-conscious customers including those who have
installed solar panels,” said Tyler Huebner, RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive
Director.
RENEW Wisconsin and a broad set of stakeholders have opposed
hikes in fixed charges since 2014,
hikes in fixed charges since 2014,
when these requests first appeared.
“Wisconsin electricity customers now pay dramatically higher
fixed charges than their counterparts in other states,” said Tyler Huebner,
RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive Director.
“Our testimony documented that the vast majority of state agencies
nationally are either rejecting these fixed charge hikes outright, or granting
much smaller increases, and only in Wisconsin are these fees being nearly
doubled.”
fixed charges than their counterparts in other states,” said Tyler Huebner,
RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive Director.
“Our testimony documented that the vast majority of state agencies
nationally are either rejecting these fixed charge hikes outright, or granting
much smaller increases, and only in Wisconsin are these fees being nearly
doubled.”
As documented by RENEW in testimony, the increase in fixed
charges granted to U.S. investor-owned utilities since 2014 has averaged about
14%. But for the five investor-owned
utilities in Wisconsin, the average fixed charge increase has been 83%.
-END-
RENEW Wisconsin leads and accelerates the transformation to
Wisconsin’s renewable energy future through advocacy, education, and
collaboration. More information on RENEW’s web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.