WED AM News: Residents raise concerns on PSC data center rate proposal; Microsoft exec reiterates company’s desire to shield ratepayers from cost increases

February 11, 2026

— Wisconsin residents expressed widespread concerns about a proposal before the Public Service Commission creating a new rate class for hyperscale data centers.

Scores of individuals tuned in yesterday for a virtual public comment period on a We Energies’ proposal that would create a new class for so-called “Very Large Customers” with a power load of 500 megawatts or more.

Critics contended the proposal offered insufficient protections for the environment and consumers’ energy bills and could allow data centers to game the system.

“I feel like we are being railroaded,” said Dale Gable. “We have this sense of somebody is going to do this, and we have very little power.”

The PSC will also hear expert testimony on the We Energies proposal tomorrow.

We Energies’ proposal offers two avenues for data centers to pay for the new transmission and generation capacity needs expected of electricity-hungry data centers.

One option would have data centers pay the cost to build, maintain and operate new generation facilities as well as the profit guaranteed to We Energies under the state’s regulated monopoly. Data centers would receive revenue from energy sold on the market for its “bespoke” energy resources as well as renewable energy credits associated with the new generation.

Under the second option, data centers would pay 75% of capital costs for new generation, with other customers picking up the remaining 25% as well as any fuel costs associated with generation. Both data centers and other customers would cover We Energies’ profit margin, though data centers would pay a different, possibly lower, rate to the utility.

The most common issue raised yesterday was the prospect of ratepayers paying higher energy bills, an acute concern with the second option presented in We Energies’ proposal.

Critics also questioned the environmental impact of potentially massive increases in generation needs.

Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said new data center development should not delay Wisconsin’s transition to renewable energy and that regulation should prioritize solar and wind power and battery storage.

“The Public Service Commission, along with Wisconsinites across the state, stands at a crossroads,” Larson said – one leading to data centers polluting the environment with natural gas and coal generation and sticking customers with the cost, and one “open, clear and bright” where developers rely on renewable energy and bear the costs themselves.

Others questioned whether the new data centers would create the jobs promised by developers like Microsoft and whether the 500-megawatt standard for large customers could let some developments off the hook for paying for new generation costs.

Representatives from area labor unions expecting to build new power plants and transmission lines offered pockets of positive testimony, with James Meyer of IBEW Local 2150 forecasting “thousands of well-paying, union construction jobs” from data center-related development.

We Energies’ proposal is expected to set a significant precedent for how the PSC handles other data center projects. The utilities’ coverage area includes much of southeastern Wisconsin, including a complex of 17 data centers planned by Microsoft in Mount Pleasant.

Legislative efforts to regulate data centers have stalled. A Democratic effort codifying a version of the Very Large Customer tariff has been blocked in committee while a GOP-backed bill without a specific regulatory framework for large customers has been dismissed by Gov. Tony Evers’ office.

— Microsoft executive Rima Alaily reiterated the tech company’s commitment to protecting residential ratepayers when pressed on concerns around controlling electricity costs linked to data center development.

Alaily, corporate vice president and general counsel of infrastructure legal affairs for Microsoft, spoke yesterday during a meeting of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee.

She touted the “once in a generation” opportunity for the state presented by the data center boom, which is being driven in part by the tech giant investing billions of dollars in southeastern Wisconsin. The company has spent $7.3 billion so far, and that figure is expected to grow over time, she said.

Once its data centers in Mount Pleasant are fully built out and operating, Microsoft will need about 2 gigawatts of power for these sites, Alaily said. She acknowledged current rate structures “don’t automatically ensure” that residential customers are protected from higher costs linked to new energy infrastructure that data centers need.

Alaily said the company is backing the We Energies proposal currently before the state Public Service to establish a “Very Large Customer” electricity rate. The proposal aims to ensure the costs of serving large-load customers like data centers are segregated, and aren’t shifted onto residential customers, she said.

A member of the Rotary Club, Hans Weissgerber, asked Alaily “how do you protect the average ratepayer from rate increases, do you have any real ability to do that?” In response, she said the company has “some ability” to insulate ratepayers from higher costs.

“We pay for the buildout of certain electrical infrastructure, think for example the substations that serve our data centers, transmission lines that are necessary,” she said yesterday. “We also work with We Energies and with the [PSC] around how they’re going to design their rate structure … Now you’re right, ultimately the [PSC] needs to make that decision. But that is what we are advocating for, and trying to push for as much as possible, that those costs are borne by us and not by residential customers.”

Microsoft’s first Wisconsin data center in Mount Pleasant, announced in May 2024, is expected to be finished and come online later this year. A second data center next to the first site is also under construction and will be operational in 2027.

Meanwhile, the company submitted preliminary expansion plans about two weeks ago, including 15 data centers across two campuses. The village board approved those plans in late January, and Microsoft plans to begin the first part of that project later this year, according to Alaily.

“We also own land in Mount Pleasant and land in Kenosha that we purchased for the purpose of data center development,” she said. “We don’t have an immediate development plan for either of those plans at this time, but we are here for the long haul.”

See coverage of a recent WisPolitics-WisBusiness-State Affairs luncheon featuring remarks by Alaily.

— Researchers at UW-Madison have created a new type of “protein degraders” that could improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is touting the technology as a top licensing prospect in its health care portfolio of UW-Madison inventions. It was created by Quanyin Hu, an assistant professor of pharmacy with the university, and postdoctoral researcher Peixin Liu.

The new class of protein degraders, called McR-TACs, can target disease-related proteins both within cells and on their surface, according to an overview provided by WARF. They’re being tested in cancer cell models, with a goal of making certain treatments “more durable and effective,” authors wrote.

This approach involves “hijacking” built-in protein disposal systems in the cell to break down the target proteins, Hu explained in a video from WARF. While this has been applied to treating cancer and other diseases, Hu says his team aims to address existing challenges with the approach and improve its clinical application.

“We are also trying to see if we can start up a company to translate this technology, but we’re also willing to work with other established companies, who [are] very interested in our technology as well,” Hu said.

The researchers designed a protein degrader that can be recycled by the cells, in order to “maintain sustained protein degradation,” according to Liu. That means fewer doses of treatment could be used to maintain the effects of treatment, WARF says.

It’s been tested in mouse models of breast cancer, showing it can achieve “long-term” clinical impact with just two injections, Liu said.

See the overview and watch the video.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— UW-Stout has received a $2 million federal grant for a job training program that could serve up to 600 students over four years.

The university yesterday announced the funding for its Fast Upskilling for Skills and Employment, or FUSE program. It’s the only Wisconsin institution to be included among the 22 recipients of the U.S. Department of Education funding, according to the release.

UW-Stout’s project includes six short-term programs for “high-demand” sectors, including health care and behavioral support, manufacturing and logistics, IT support and cybersecurity, event planning and child care.

The first two FUSE certificates will be launched by year’s end, offering stackable programs and the option to apply them toward bachelor’s degrees at UW-Stout.

The university says it will work closely with businesses to ensure the program helps provide participants with the skills needed by key industries. It includes several performance targets, including that 80% of students finish the program, 75% obtain credentials and 70% get job placements within six months of graduation.

See more in the release.

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a WisBusiness column by Buckley Brinkman, advisor to the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing and Productivity.

— Wisconsin should lead the nation in AI implementation. Instead, we are likely to do too little by trying to do too much. We should focus on our strength – engagement around practical and creative solutions to real world problems.

Wisconsinites are an independent and provincial people. We are fiercely self-sufficient, infused with the belief that we can handle almost anything by ourselves – or with a close group of friends. That drives us to a provincialism that says our part of the state is special, we’re fine, and solutions created elsewhere will never apply to us. Each region knows that it is the best and shares a deep feeling of pride. We like practical approaches and resources that are easily within reach.

We come by these attitudes honestly: Our forefathers and mothers were explorers and farmers and mechanics – people who needed to immediately take care of issues to survive. Of course, they passed those qualities onto us. When I think “Wisconsinbly,” I think spirited, practical, and focused.

That approach won’t work with AI. The technology moves too fast for any one person or entity to keep up. It’s more accessible than almost any other technology we’ve seen – even I can use it! AI is blowing up our ideas, business models, and basic heuristics, making it critical that we develop new pathways. Finally, it can also be dangerous – charging ahead without the guardrails or established ethics needed to keep us safe. That’s a challenge because many of the risks have yet to be discovered.

Read the full column here.

Menomonee Falls-based TJ Hale shuts down unexpectedly citing financial issues

Sturgeon spearing season nears as Wisconsin’s ancient fish continue comeback

TOPICS

AGRIBUSINESS

– Mid-State Technical College to host 49th annual farm tour

EDUCATION

– Madison schools must train more reading tutors, grassroots group urges

ENTERTAINMENT & THE ARTS

– Madison Ballet defies convention with shoulder rolls and combat boots

ENVIRONMENT

– C. Reiss coal piles relocation advances; county to vote on lease terms