THU AM News: CUB analyst calls for ‘better system planning’ for electric grid; U.S. trade officials touting ‘Milwaukee Framework’ for steel sector

October 1, 2026

— An analyst with the Citizens Utility Board is calling for “better system planning” for Wisconsin’s electric grid as it undergoes rapid change driven in part by data centers.

Corey Singletary, director of regulatory affairs for CUB, this week told a meeting of the Wisconsin Technology Council that data center growth has “shone really big, really bright spotlights on existing fractures … or vulnerabilities” in the state’s utility regulatory system.

“I think there are policy improvements that can build onto that rich legacy of regulation,” he said of the state Public Service Commission’s role.

He noted CUB supports implementing integrated resource planning in Wisconsin, a different approach from the state’s existing framework. Currently, the PSC requests information from utilities on a biennial basis to create the Strategic Energy Assessment or SEA.

But Richard Heinemann, an attorney at Boardman Clark who represents municipal electric utilities in Wisconsin, criticized the SEA process as “flawed” and inherently backward-looking.

“It’s just kind of presented to level-set what the energy landscape looks like in a moment in time, and as soon as those data requests are responded to and the SEA is published, it’s obsolete,” he said.

The state used to have an advanced planning process that’s largely similar to an IRP, which was abandoned in the early 2000s. Still, Singletary noted key differences between the state’s original advanced planning process of the late 1990s and existing IRPs, pointing to Minnesota’s system as an example.

Within Minnesota’s IRP framework, an individual utility such as Xcel Energy submits its plan to regulators for its own needs, separately from other energy providers. By comparison, Wisconsin’s old advanced planning process involved all the utilities creating one resource plan for the entire state at the same time, according to Singletary.

“So you can imagine that’s like herding a lot of cats,” he said, arguing Minnesota’s approach is less complicated and adding “there are good reasons why maybe it didn’t work so great the first time.”

He said going through an IRP process would allow utilities’ planning processes to be vetted by regulators, to ensure they’re consistent with state statute and policy priorities. Ultimately, moving to such a system would result in greater public trust in the outcomes of utility regulation, he argued.

But while Heinemann said the SEA process has its own issues, he questioned “if it makes sense” to go back to an IRP in Wisconsin.

“Especailly now with all these changes, almost as soon as you present something it’s no longer relevant, so it becomes a very difficult tool to utilize,” he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Alliant Energy said the PSC is struggling to deal with the increased workload. Catherine Giljohann, assistant vice president of regulatory affairs for the Madison-based utility, said the agency does a “fantastic job” but emphasized the greater pressure on the regulatory body.

“Whether we can improve processes, there’s always going to be tweaks to processes we can fix. You can’t improve a process when you’re trying to keep your head above water,” Giljohann said. “The PSC really doesn’t have the amount of resources it needs.”

Watch the video.

— U.S. trade officials are touting a new joint framework among steel-producing nations dubbed “the Milwaukee Framework,” created while diplomats are meeting in Wisconsin this week for the G20 Trade Ministerial.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who chaired the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity, yesterday said the United States will work with other forum members to implement the new framework. It targets “excess capacity and its impacts” in the steel sector, with a state goal of leveling the playing field.

Greer argued the U.S. steel industry is “undergoing a renaissance” under the Trump administration, touting “the strength of tariffs, trade deals, favorable tax treatment, improved energy policy” and American entrepreneurship.

“If like-minded partners adopt similar policies, they can hold accountable those countries that are contributing to the problem of global overcapacity in steel,” Greer said in a statement.

Members of the GFSEC, which collectively make up nearly 56% of global steel imports, say the industry is facing a crisis driven by “non-market policies and practices” by non-members.

While the framework itself doesn’t mention China, members of the U.S. steel industry last week called on Trump to challenge Chinese leadership on the issue of excess steel production capacity, driven in part by its subsidies to the industry.

In the framework document, forum members say the excess capacity is being sustained by government interventions shielding “uneconomic capacity” from market forces, distorting trade and weakening market-based producers around the world.

“Without further intervention, excess capacity is projected to continue to increase, further threatening the steel industry, its workers, and its supply chains,” authors wrote.

The framework outlines a number of actions members have agreed to take, such as investigating related issues, exchanging data to identify “suspicious patterns of trade,” “constructively” participating in World Trade Organization committees and more.

See the document.

— Two-thirds of registered voters in the latest Marquette Law School Poll said AI development is bad for society.

The poll found 65% of registered voters believe the development of artificial intelligence is a bad thing for society, while 34% said it’s a good thing.

Republicans were more split, with 53% saying it’s a bad thing and 46% saying it’s a good thing. But independents and Democrats had dimmer views on the technology, with 74% and 75% saying it’s bad for society, respectively.

In a related question, 68% of registered voters said they favor a one-year ban on data center construction, while 32% said they were opposed. Republicans were 52% in favor and 48% opposed, while Democrats were 83% in favor and 17% opposed. Independents were split 75-23 on the question.

Meanwhile, the survey also asked respondents which among five large industrial and commercial developments they would want in their area. It found 44% of registered voters said they wouldn’t like to see any of the listed developments, while 33% said they would be in favor of a semiconductor fabrication plant and 27% said an e-commerce fulfillment center.

Another 24% said a vehicle manufacturing plant, while 14% said a steel aluminum mill and just 9% said they’d want a data center in their area — the least preferred option.

And while most respondents agreed on the importance of manufacturing and industrial development for jobs — with 49% saying very important and 43% saying somewhat important — state tax incentives for businesses were less popular.

When asked about the state providing tax exemptions and other financial incentives to attract manufacturers and other businesses, 45% said the jobs and economic benefits have been worth the cost. But 54% said this approach rewards companies that don’t pay their fair share in taxes.

The survey was conducted Sept. 16-23 including 843 registered Wisconsin voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

See the results.

— NorthStar Medical Technologies has landed $185 million in growth capital financing, funding efforts to scale up isotope production and drug manufacturing.

The Beloit-based radiopharmaceutical business yesterday announced the deal with Hercules Capital in California, which includes $100 million in upfront funding. Lake McGuire, the venture capital firm’s managing director, touted NorthStar’s ability to produce “a critical isotope at scale at an important time” for the industry.

Earlier this year, the company announced it was the first commercial-scale producer of no-carrier-added actinium-225 — a key material for certain cancer therapies — using electron accelerator technology.

“We are pleased to provide capital to help NorthStar expand its production and meet growing demand, while supporting its role as a partner to companies advancing these therapies,” McGuire said in a statement.

The investment follows the FDA in April accepting the company’s drug master file for n.c.a. Ac-225, a regulatory hurdle the company said was critical for its use in clinical cancer treatment. NorthStar aims to transition to a “high-capacity” production line for the material at its facilities in Beloit later this year.

NorthStar President and CEO Frank Scholz says the new funding “provides the necessary capital to expand our capacity, accelerate our growth, and support our partners” in developing medical treatments.

See the release.

— State health officials issued vaccine recommendations for flu, COVID-19 and RSV amid a “void” in federal leadership on this issue, basing their guidelines instead on the work of professional societies.

That’s according to Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for the state Department of Health Services. Speaking yesterday during a call with reporters, he stressed the safety of available vaccines and urged members of the public to make vaccination a part of their fall season plans.

Still, he noted this appeal comes as the federal government has shifted its approach for recommending vaccines. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, has been “not functioning as normal” or meeting regularly amid widespread turnover in the committee and cuts to its research staff, according to Westergaard.

Absent guidance from the CDC, professional societies including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Infectious Disease Society of America convened subject matter experts to review scientific evidence on available vaccines for this year.

The groups then offered guidance for the vaccines being recommended by DHS ahead of the respiratory virus season.

“The guidance that we here in Wisconsin have released is the result and reflects that process,” Westergaard said, adding, “the work was still done, it was done by volunteer scientists, clinicians, experts in the field … so that process was different, but here from our perspective, we’re hoping that for the general public, for patients in clinics and people going to pharmacies, the outcome is the same.”

See the release.

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