Madison – The effort to enact Right of First Refusal (ROFR) legislation through Assembly Bill 25 and Senate Bill 28, is gaining steam in the Wisconsin Legislature. This legislation is being sold as a measure that will keep energy rates lower for our state’s ratepayers when, in reality, it is a protectionist attempt to dispense with competitive bidding over new transmission projects coming to Wisconsin.
“At a time when the rising cost of living has severely affected Wisconsinites of all stripes, it is unthinkable that our state is about to endorse and protect the energy monopoly,” said Representative Lindee Brill (R – Sheboygan Falls). “These are the companies that have routinely profited from forcing Wisconsinites to pay some of the highest energy costs in the Midwest. It is difficult to understand how supposed ‘free-market conservatives’ and ‘progressive liberals’ alike intend to support this policy which so blatantly flies in the face of each group’s core principles.”
Examining the political realities of ROFR helps to clear up the confusion regarding how numerous legislators and Governor Evers plan to side with the energy companies over everyday Wisconsinites. One must spend no more than a few minutes perusing campaign finance documentation in order to understand why this issue is such a priority for our state government. This reality, coupled with the fact that ROFR was the most lobbied bill of the Legislature’s previous session, should cause all people of our state to wonder if this legislative effort doesn’t bear the discernible stench of corruption.
Proponents of ROFR favor the argument that the delivery of energy necessitates a ‘natural monopoly,’ and that our state has charged the Public Service Commission (PSC) with the task of keeping this ‘unavoidable’ monopoly well-regulated. Representative Brill’s constituents are currently getting a taste of how meaningful the PSC’s work is in protecting our citizens’ interests.
The proposed Plymouth Reliability Project is a transmission project which is under PSC consideration. It was only two weeks ago that a public meeting of the PSC refused to entertain statements – including one issued by Representative Brill – requesting that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be prepared to assess how the project will affect the natural area. “The PSC’s unwillingness to listen to local Wisconsinites on the matter of this project gives me little confidence that the Commission can reliably be trusted to keep our state’s energy monopoly in check,” commented Representative Brill.
“I urge people across our state to reach out to their legislators – be they Republican or Democrat – and ask them: do you stand with Wisconsinites or do you stand with the energy monopoly?”
Representative Lindee Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls) serves the 27th Assembly District which includes portions of Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Manitowoc counties.
