State Regulators Approve Electric Rate Increase for Two Utilities, But Not as Much as They Requested

Tuesday, November 10th, 2026 -- 8:01 AM

(Joe Schulz, Wisconsin Public Radio) State regulators approved electric rate increases for two of the state’s biggest utility companies on Thursday, but the size of the rate hikes came in lower than the utilities requested.

According to Joe Shulz with Wisconsin Public Radio, We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, both owned by the same parent company, filed applications in April with the state Public Service Commission, asking to increase electric rates in 2027 and 2028.

We Energies had asked for a 4.6 percent increase to base electric rates in 2027 and another 4.5 percent increase in 2028. The PSC reduced the size of the hike to 3.9 percent in 2027 and 3.5 percent in 2028.

For We Energies’ sister company, Wisconsin Public Service, regulators approved a 0.3 percent electric rate increase in 2027 and a 2.9 percent increase 2028. A typical We Energies residential customer is expected to see their monthly electric bill rise by around $7 to $8 in 2027 and $6 to $7 in 2028, while a typical WPS residential customer will see their bill increase by around $1 or less next year and $5 to $6 the following year.

That’s according to estimates provided by WEC Energy Group, the parent company of We Energies and WPS. Representatives for consumer and environmental groups said they appreciated the commission for reducing the price hikes but some still felt regulators didn’t go far enough after years of rate increases.

Tom Content, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, said regulators sent a message to utilities that “costs are going to be scrutinized more carefully because affordability is front and center,” though he said they could’ve gone even further.

“They did some things that the PSC has been reluctant to do in the past in the name of affordability,” Content said. “I think we saw some significant steps forward in oversight and accountability and affordability for utility customers.”

Brendan Conway, a spokesperson for WEC Energy Group said the commission’s approval allows the company to invest in new energy generation and to continue tree trimming and burying powerlines to reduce outages.

“We recognize our responsibility to continue providing safe and reliable energy, while keeping customer bills as low as possible,” Conway said in a statement. “During this months-long process we worked with customer groups and Commission staff to reduce costs to customers by tens of millions of dollars.”

He added that the PSC actions on Thursday also ensure “no costs to serve data centers are shifted to other customers.”

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