MILWAUKEE – Yesterday, Wisconsinites testified at the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) virtual hearings regarding a special rate structure for “Very Large Customers” (VLCs) (Docket 6630-TE-113). The hearings amplified residents’ growing concerns that the current proposal from We Energies would pass energy and infrastructure costs for massive data centers to everyday customers.
Organizations, experts and residents who testified underscored the need for a clear and separate rate structure for VLCs to ensure residents and small businesses do not pay for data centers’ energy costs. Over 85% of the comments at the public hearings called for strengthening the rate structure to protect Wisconsin residents, while only 6% supported the proposal as it stands.
“This proposal lets Big Tech and We Energies off the hook and instead puts Wisconsinites at risk for picking up the cost to power their massive AI data centers,” said Cassie Steiner, senior campaign coordinator at Sierra Club Wisconsin. “If Big Tech wants to come to Wisconsin and use our state resources, Wisconsinites deserve to be fully informed and have no risk of incurring the costs from these billion-dollar corporations. It’s simple: Big Tech should pay its fair share. The PSC must implement protections now to keep us from footing the bill.”
Consider that just two proposed data center projects — Microsoft’s Mount Pleasant facility and Vantage/OpenAI’s Port Washington facility — are projected to consume as much electricity as all We Energies residential customers statewide. This massive demand would be equivalent to adding 1.1 million new customers to the grid in just a few years.
Testimony from various organizations, community advocates and residents outlined the following protections they’d like to see in the tariff to protect Wisconsin families and small businesses, including:
- Requiring tech companies to pay 100% of the costs for the generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure they require within the rate structure.
- Lowering the threshold for who qualifies as a large energy user from 500 MW to 20 MW to ensure these protections apply broadly and reflect real-world energy use.
- Matching contract lengths to the full lifespan of the power plants built to serve them, ensuring data centers don’t leave the public holding the bill if they downsize or depart after 15 years.
- Applying to all nongovernmental large customers without exception, which would prevent companies from being able to opt in or out of the new rate structure.
- Prioritizing clean energy to protect the grid from volatile gas prices and prevent the state from being locked into decades of costly fossil fuel infrastructure.
“Wisconsin residents are raising their voices to demand investments in clean energy, affordable energy, and protections for our environment,” said Elizabeth Hittman, Associate Director of Policy for Wisconsin, at Elevate. “The PSC must account for the full costs of data center infrastructure investments in this proposed tariff, including transmission costs, to ensure families and small businesses don’t face even higher energy bills at a time when pocketbooks are already under strain. Wisconsinites shouldn’t be footing the bill: multibillion-dollar tech corporations should pay.”
To view public comments already submitted in the docket, click the following link:
Public Comments for Docket 6630-TE-113
For additional quotes or to schedule an interview, please see the attached quote sheet or contact powerwisconsinforward@muellercommunications.com
