PSC to hold public hearing in La Crosse on Excel rate request

An announcement from the Public Service Commission:

MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) will hold public hearings on Monday, November 3rd in Eau Claire and La Crosse on Xcel Energy’s request to adjust its electric rates. Excel has requested to increase their electric rates by 8.6 percent.

When a utility requests a change in rates, the PSC conducts a thorough audit of the utility’s expenses and revenues. The agency will look at the amount Xcel needs to provide a reliable source of energy to customers, which includes costs of fuel, maintenance, new construction and environmental protection.

Public comments on Xcel’s application will be included in the record the Commission will review to make a decision. The PSC has the authority to approve, deny or modify the application. Citizens are encouraged to attend the hearings, which will be broadcast simultaneously from three different locations at the following times:

Monday, November 3
3:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

UW-La Crosse
Wing Communications Building, Room 102
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI

UW-Eau Claire
Old Library, Room 1132
105 Garfield Avenue
Eau Claire, WI

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Amnicon Falls Hearing Room – 1st floor
610 North Whitney Way
Madison, WI

If you cannot attend the public hearings, but would like to provide comments, you can do so on the PSC’s website at http://psc.wi.gov through November 3. Click on the Public Comments button on the PSC’s homepage and click on the case title.

Hearing locations are accessible to people in wheelchairs. Anyone requiring accommodations to participate should contact Docket Coordinator Jodee J. Bartels at (608) 267-9859. Documents associated with Xcel Energy’s application can be viewed on the PSC’s Electronic Regulatory Filing System at http://psc.wi.gov/. Type case numbers 4220-UR-115 in the boxes provided on the PSC homepage, or click on the Electronic Regulatory Filing System button.

PSC to hold public hearings in Eau Claire on Excel rate request

An announcement from the Public Service Commission:

MADISON – The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) will hold public hearings on Monday, November 3rd in Eau Claire and La Crosse on Xcel Energy’s request to adjust its electric rates. Excel has requested to increase their electric rates by 8.6 percent.

When a utility requests a change in rates, the PSC conducts a thorough audit of the utility’s expenses and revenues. The agency will look at the amount Xcel needs to provide a reliable source of energy to customers, which includes costs of fuel, maintenance, new construction and environmental protection.

Public comments on Xcel’s application will be included in the record the Commission will review to make a decision. The PSC has the authority to approve, deny or modify the application. Citizens are encouraged to attend the hearings, which will be broadcast simultaneously from three different locations at the following times:

Monday, November 3
3:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

UW-Eau Claire
Old Library, Room 1132
105 Garfield Avenue
Eau Claire, WI

UW-La Crosse
Wing Communications Building, Room 102
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Amnicon Falls Hearing Room – 1st floor
610 North Whitney Way
Madison, WI

If you cannot attend the public hearings, but would like to provide comments, you can do so on the PSC’s website at http://psc.wi.gov through November 3. Click on the Public Comments button on the PSC’s homepage and click on the case title.

Hearing locations are accessible to people in wheelchairs. Anyone requiring accommodations to participate should contact Docket Coordinator Jodee J. Bartels at (608) 267-9859. Documents associated with Xcel Energy’s application can be viewed on the PSC’s Electronic Regulatory Filing System at http://psc.wi.gov. Type case numbers 4220-UR-115 in the boxes provided on the PSC homepage, or click on the Electronic Regulatory Filing System button.

Alliant files "closing arguments" on Cassville plant

From a media release issued by Alliant:

MADISON, WI – October 17, 2008 – A decision on the future of the Nelson Dewey Generating Station is just weeks away. The final phase of the regulatory process kicked off today, as Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE: LNT), filed its . . . brief in the case.

The brief highlights that no generating facility in Wisconsin history has ever provided the varied benefits that Nelson Dewey 3 will bring. These benefits include helping to jump start the biofuels economy in Wisconsin and establishing an estimated $50 million dollars annually in economic development from that market, creating much-needed jobs for southwest Wisconsin during the construction and operation of the plant, and increasing the transmission import capability into the state by as much as 600 megawatts.

Also addressed in the brief is the importance of strong ratemaking principles to the project. Ratemaking principles define how construction costs will be recovered in utility rates throughout the life of the generating facility. “These are clearly challenging economic times for all of us,” said William D. Harvey, Chairman, President, and CEO – Alliant Energy. “We are thankful that, in Wisconsin, our regulators have the ability to fix the financial parameters for the lifetime of the project. That certainty can help provide our customers and our company with stability, which, now more than ever, is critical.”

The proposed 300 megawatt plant will have the ability to burn not only coal, but also switchgrass (native prairie grass), corn stalks and waste wood from area fields and forests. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) is considering WPL’s proposal, with final briefs in the docket due at the end of this month. The PSCW is expected to issue an oral decision about the future of the project in mid-November, with a written order due in mid-December.