
The Wisconsin EJII is a cross-disciplinary group that aims to provide greater access to networks, leadership, and resources that support the mission of equitable infrastructure investment, in a wide range of Environmental Justice situations, involving the rights of individuals and families, especially Wisconsin communities of color.
Why a utility rate case matters?
Designing Electric Rates That Are Good for Customers and the Planet
While many of us know that combating climate change will require more clean energy such as solar and wind, most people don’t know how well-designed electricity rates can help advance a clean energy future. Rates are simply the prices a utility charges its customers for electricity. Depending on how rates are designed they either can spur customers to make clean energy choices or can be a hurdle to our clean energy future, providing disincentives to powering our homes and cars with clean energy. For example, charging a lump sum no matter how much energy a customer uses removes incentives to save energy and gives customers less ability to lower bills by using less energy. If the Interior West is to advance our shared vision of clean energy innovations to reduce carbon pollution and provide reliable power, well-designed electricity rates are critical.
Guiding Principles for Fair Rates and Less Pollution
WRA is working to ensure that electricity rates are smart for our wallets, our environment, our health and our economy. New rate designs should:
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be easy to understand and provide customers the ability to control their electricity use to lower their bills if desired,
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set prices that reflect the cost of carbon pollution to our health, economy and environment,
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reward customers who use less energy or choose to use energy when more clean power is on the system,
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encourage large-scale clean energy projects (like wind farms) and customer-owned clean energy systems (like rooftop solar),
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indicate to electric vehicle owners when they can charge up with cleaner energy powering the system, and
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protect access to affordable electricity for low-income customers.
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Prcing design
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Limiting fixed fees so that most costs are in the per-kilowatt charges (volumetric rates). This means we each get charged mostly by the amount of energy we use, providing us opportunities to lower our bills by using less energy.
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Creating time-of-use rates that charge less for electricity used during off-peak periods, which is usually powered by clean energy sources. These types of rates create incentives for charging electric vehicles and doing other activities using electricity when there is cleaner energy available.
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Fair pricing for customers with rooftop solar installations so that they help pay the cost of maintaining the grid they still use and receive fair compensation for the clean energy they produce for others to use.
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Advancing community solar so low-income residents and others living in apartments or condominiums who don’t own their roof can economically benefit by subscribing to a solar garden
WEC Energy Group, Inc. (WEC) CEO Scott Lauber on Q1 2022 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
NO INCREASE
Strings Attached: How utilities use charitable giving to influence politics and increase investor profits
I have solar panels to address electricity needs but gas prices need to stay affordable
Power outages this year lead to calls for electricity reliability review in Wisconsin
WE. energies is Constantly taking advantage of being able to raise their prices. Totally unfair!
We Energies proposes 5% residential rate increase to fund clean-energy transition
i believe we already pay a inner city tax that causes our utilities to be higher. I also think that needs to be addressed.
Heating bills will jump as much as 54% this winter compared to last year, federal forecast says
I'm not for an increase in my utilities bills
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We Energy do a lot of red lining raising their pricing in different areas in the city of Milwaukee.. I have a lot of use.
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I believe with the increase cost. It’s going to cause a lot of families to struggle with paying their bills in a greater way. The problem is must families in Lindsay Heights already are struggling so why cause families to drown with increasing the utility rates.
Hot weather, high natural gas prices could increase energy bills this summer
Our community is already struggling to make ends meet due to low wages from jobs. And I believe also as Covid continues to rises again I'm afraid we might fall back in a pandemic crisis.
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We energy have been taken advantage of Milwaukee and surrounding missipalities it is for many years one of the main reasons they are our only utility resources that's available ,and that creates a enormous monopoly
New study says Wisconsin's electricity rates are highest in Midwest
The cost of utilities in any given area, if ever increased, should only be done so based on the aggregate cost of utilities usage, and offesr by higher usage area (downtown, for instance)
As We Energies Expanded Oak Creek Power Plant, So Did CO2 Emissions
We have very low income already and the bills are sky high😥
More than 11,000 We Energies customers without power due to powerful winds
Increased utility rates would create a hardship for the low-income customers we serve at the Social Development Commission and throughout Milwaukee County.