GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Wisconsin Public Services customers could be paying a few extra bucks for their energy bills, starting next year.
WPS filed proposals with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin this week for regulatory reviews that will set customer rates for electricity and natural gas for 2023.
The filing comes as WPS is in the midst of the largest clean energy transition in company history.
“A key part of this filing is that it continues our efforts to build a bright sustainable future for customers while continuing to deliver them affordable, reliable, and clean energy,” said WPS Spokesman Matt Cullen.
The proposal includes critical investments in storm hardening and grid resiliency.
In the rate filing, WPS points to three cost drivers:
• Capital investments in new solar, wind and battery storage — many of which have already been approved by the PSCW.
• Reliability investments, including grid hardening projects to bury power lines and strengthen the delivery network against severe weather.
• Changes in wholesale business with other utilities.
“”Many of these projects have already been approved by the state public service commission. That filing also includes reliability investments, which include grid hardening projects to bury power lines and continue to strengthen our system against severe weather,” Cullen said. “In addition to making those investments in renewables, it also includes millions of dollars in savings to our customers from the closure of some of our older less efficient fossil fuel plants.”
So how much, exactly, will the average energy bill be going up?
“The filing that we submitted for consideration would increase a typical monthly residential customers electric bills by approximately $5 to $6 per month next year,” Cullen told WTAQ News. “Even with that increase our typical residential customer bill would remain below the national average and in line with the Midwest average as well…Our electric customer rates have increased less than an annual average of half of one percent since 2015. Over the past decade, while inflation has risen by 20-percent, our rates have only gone up 4.8-percent.”
In late-May, WPS will update the filing to include more specific information on the impact for each customer group. The company also will provide this information to customers through a bill insert and on wisconsinpublicservice.com.
The PSCW will conduct hearings on the WPS proposals and is expected to make a final decision later this year. New rates are expected to take effect in January 2023.
