The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com. 

MADISON, Wis. – As temperatures across the nation climbed in recent days, it was a metaphor for the kind of public heat Wisconsin utility suppliers feel when it comes to keeping the lights on and buildings cool.

We live in a skeptical age in which people expect utilities to deliver on a set of competing goals – all the while controlling residential and business bills. Some examples:

  • Coal gets much of the blame for those who fear global “warming” has run amok, but it’s still a major generation source in Wisconsin and more so nationally. In 2024, coal plants provided nearly 32% of Wisconsin’s net electricity output, which is down from 60% in 2010. That slide is likely to continue, although President Trump has vowed to revive America’s “beautiful clean coal industry.”
  • Natural gas surpassed coal as Wisconsin’s leading source of electricity generation in 2022. It supplied about 41% in 2024. Such plants emit much less carbon dioxide than coal plants and provide needed grid flexibility, but some groups continue to oppose new construction. Critics needn’t worry in the short term: There’s a five-to-seven-year backlog in building natural gas turbines, essential to such plants.
  • Solar energy is rising as a share of Wisconsin’s energy picture (about 7%) because it’s relatively cheap and is not a fossil fuel. There are drawbacks: Solar energy is generated mostly during non-peak use times, so storage systems are necessary. Solar projects in some rural communities encounter stiff opposition.
  • Wind energy is akin to solar in the sense it doesn’t come attached to greenhouse gases. It accounts for about 3% of Wisconsin’s electric power. Much like solar, there can be complaints about giant wind turbines in the visual and audible “back yards” of nearby residents.
  • Surprising to some people is how much of Wisconsin’s electric power is generated by conventional nuclear fission plants – about 15.5% in 2024, with the Point Beach plants near Lake Michigan being the sole source. On the horizon: Small Module Nuclear Reactors also generate electric power through fission. They are safer and less expensive to build than older fission plants, but licensing and construction time remain factors. Commercial fusion is still years, if not decades, away.
  • Any generation source requires transmission lines to move electrons from Point A to Point B, but 345-kilovolt lines are rarely welcome in most backyards.

Complicated enough for you? Now consider that some political candidates have urged the state Public Service Commission to block future rate increases, an inane position on capital investment alone. Meanwhile, energy use is climbing even without predicted demand from data centers. Interviews with several utility executives underscored complexities in how the grid must work.

“We have to build a system to meet peak demand – for example, on the hottest and coldest days of the year – and we need to meet that demand reliably,” said Jeff Keebler, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Madison Gas & Electric Co.

Some critics focus on Wisconsin’s electricity “rates,” but data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency shows residential bills in the state are 10th lowest among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. In 2024, the average monthly bill in Wisconsin was $110.87 versus $142.26 nationally.

“As a state, we have to embrace every form of energy,” said Brent Ridge, president and chief executive officer of Dairyland Power Cooperative, which is based in La Crosse and operates in parts of four states. “We have to find balance.”

Some generation sources can be hundreds of miles from where the power is needed. It took 13 years for Dairyland to win permits for a transmission line to carry wind power about 100 miles yet only two years to build it.

“The very same groups that focus on renewable energy being our sole source of energy are the same type of groups that are suing us as we try to build these (transmission) projects,” Ridge said.

While imperfect, Wisconsin’s regulatory processes have allowed utilities to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy for decades. Those who propose to throw it overboard for a different system must be willing to explain how the lights will stay on, in heat or cold.

Still is past president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. He is an adviser to Competitive Wisconsin Inc., a non-profit policy group.