GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany vowed to lower the profit that investor-owned utilities are able to make when they seek rate increases from the Public Service Commission.

Tiffany yesterday said it was part of an effort to lower costs for consumers that includes appointing members of the PSC who put “affordability and reliability first.” He also again vowed to require a one-year cooling-off period before commissioners could go to work for an investor-owned utility or transmission company.

“Wisconsin needs an energy policy that puts the people paying the bills first,” Tiffany said.

The new proposal was part of a broader plan Tiffany touted today that included several policies he’s supported in the past, including a greater reliance on nuclear power.

Under state law, investor-owned utilities are guaranteed the opportunity to turn a profit, which is called a return on equity. It is factored into rate cases that go before the PSC.

As part of a look at rate hikes over the past decade, WisPolitics reported in December that the PSC from 2021-26 with a majority of members appointed by Dem Gov. Tony Evers had approved an average return on equity of 9.9%, which was above the national average of 9.68%. 

Between 2012-17 with a majority of PSC members appointed by GOP Gov. Scott Walker, the average return on equity was 10.3%, which was higher than the national average of 9.78% at the time.

Dem David Crowley two weeks ago called for a two-year cooling-off period before energy companies could hire former PSC members or lawmakers who oversee utility regulation as part of an anti-corruption package. His platform also calls for a responsible expansion of nuclear energy.

In a statement yesterday, Crowley’s campaign said he’d appoint PSC commissioners who “put ratepayers first.”

“Congressman Tom Tiffany is talking tough now, but he voted to slash funding for the watchdog that fights rate hikes and voted for a bill that would raise electric rates,” campaign spokesperson Alexandra Gross said. “He’s already shown whose side he’s on, and it isn’t Wisconsin families.”

While on the Joint Finance Committee in 2015, Tiffany voted with fellow Republicans to cut state funding for staff at the Citizen Utility Board, which advocates for lower electricity rates for residents.