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Mandela Barnes sat down with Civic Media’s Daybreak with Brian Noonan and Jamie Martinson to talk about his plan to Freeze the Rates.

Wisconsin families have seen the highest rate increases in the Midwest. Mandela Barnes laid out his plan to stand up for Wisconsinites by freezing utility rates, capping executive pay, and ensuring ratepayers aren’t paying for utility companies to continue to profit off shuttered coal plants.

As Governor, Mandela Barnes is pledging for Wisconsin to “be the example of what it means to hold greedy utility monopolies accountable.”

Read more below:

Civic Media: Mandela Barnes argues utility companies have too little oversight and too much sway over pricing, wants to “freeze the rates”

[Jennie Brand, 3/23/26]

  • Health care, home care, child care, groceries, mortgage and rental payments, prices at the pump. Rising costs are hitting families hard from multiple directions these days. In Wisconsin, electricity bills continue to rise at a rate faster than eight other Midwestern states. In fact, energy rates in the state have exceeded regional averages for the last 20 years.
  • “We are struggling as Wisconsinites as we continue to pay higher costs and higher bills,” he said. “The money is there. It’s being spent in so many other directions. And I’m happy to work with responsible utility companies and those who want to do the right thing by their customers, but that’s just not the dynamic we’re experiencing right now.”
  • Barnes noted Wisconsin customers are seeing monthly bills spike by “up to $300 a month” at a time when energy companies are experiencing record profits. WEC Energy Group, the Milwaukee-based parent company of We Energies, reported $1.6 billion in net profits in 2025. As part of Barnes’ “Wisconsin Way” agenda, utility companies would face stricter limits and greater oversight on raising consumer prices under his administration.
  • Although he acknowledges fuel costs and major infrastructure upgrades as common drivers of increases in utility rates, Barnes argues regulators should examine the correlation between rising executive pay and increases in utility prices consumers are absorbing, putting a greater emphasis on consumer protection.
  • Barnes is pledging to call for an end to a “revolving door,” where state regulators later take jobs with utility companies. His plan instead would be to sign into law a bill prohibiting utilities from using ratepayer funds for lobbying or political expenses. Limiting the pipeline, he argues, would strengthen public confidence that regulators are keeping the concerns of energy customers top of mind and acting independently.
  • Barnes’ plan, he said, includes closing loopholes that make ratepayers cover debts from closed coal plants, removing obstacles for renewable energy, providing tax credits for energy efficiency improvements, and ending reconnection fees for low-income families.