The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
Under Governor Tony Evers’ watch, Wisconsin families have been hit with relentless utility rate hikes year after year, rubber-stamped by the very agency designed to protect them, the Public Service Commission (PSC). Instead of acting as a watchdog for consumers, the Evers-appointed commissioners have become enablers for monopoly utilities, approving three consecutive years of higher energy bills. The result? Working-class families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small businesses already struggling to make ends meet are footing the bill while utilities and their executives cash in.
In November 2024, the PSC again signed off on rate hikes for We Energies and WPS. At the same time, the Commission preserved a guaranteed 9.8 percent return on equity (ROE) for these monopoly providers. Disturbingly, ROE is not determined based on service reliability or infrastructure. It’s about enriching executives and rewarding shareholders. While ratepayers are left scrambling to pay winter bills that can reach as high as $700 a month, utility executives enjoy multi-million-dollar salaries, bonuses, and stock awards.
The consequences are devastating. In 2024 alone, more than 187,000 Wisconsin households needed taxpayer-funded energy assistance just to keep the heat and lights on. That is not the sign of a healthy, affordable energy system; it is evidence that the PSC is failing at its most basic duty to protect the public.
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Meanwhile, utilities are raking in record profits. Alliant Energy reported over $3 billion last year, and its CEO makes over $3,300 an hour. Yet Alliant, Xcel, and Madison Gas and Electric (MG&E) are lining up for even more, proposing rate hikes in 2026 and 2027 as high as 11.8 percent and 7.2 percent. For the average family, that’s another $18 a month siphoned away to pad shareholder profits. Most alarming for my district, We Energies asked for $418.8 million in hikes over just two years, which equates to an 18.5 percent increase for households, including an 8.58 percent spike in 2026 alone.
Enough is enough. Wisconsin families cannot continue to shoulder this burden while monopoly utilities and Wall Street investors thrive. The PSC was created to serve as a check on corporate greed, but it has abandoned that mission. By consistently approving rate hikes, the Commission has chosen profits over people.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The PSC can and must reject the proposed increases from Alliant, Xcel, MG&E, and We Energies. It must prove to the people of Wisconsin that it is willing to stand up to powerful utility interests and fight for ratepayers who are already stretched too thin by rising costs of living.
The bottom line is simple: Wisconsin families cannot afford Tony Evers’ energy policies any longer, and they cannot afford another PSC failure. It is the job of the PSC to protect ratepayers, and the time to act is now.
– Knodl, R-Germantown, represent the 24th Assembly District.
