Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
WISCONSIN – Sierra Club has released its annual Dirty Truth Report. This year, We Energies’ score has plummeted to 4 out of 100 possible points– its worst score ever and 20 points lower than its first score when the Dirty Truth came out only six years ago. We Energies is spotlighted in a case study within the report. We Energies has earned its abysmal grade from delaying the retirement of the Oak Creek coal plant for the third time and planning to build 1.2 gigawatts of new gas power plant capacity by 2035– increasing its existing gas capacity by nearly 50 percent.
The surge in new gas largely comes from We Energies trying to incentivize Big Tech to come to Wisconsin to build massive AI data centers, opening the door to more profit at the expense of their ratepayers. This year, We Energies is proposing a 14% increase in utility bills without sufficient clarity on the actions the utility has taken to protect existing customers from costs attributable to data center load.
Over 1,800 public comments were submitted to the PSC, 91 percent of which opposed the rate increase. Of those in opposition, nearly 75 percent cited affordability as a primary concern, and nearly 42 percent called for a decrease to We Energies’ profits and CEO and Board of Directors payments. Other comments cited concerns about data centers, lack of clean energy investment, health concerns, and power shutoffs.
“This report and overwhelming public opposition to We Energies’ latest rate increase crystallize what Wisconsinites have known for years: We Energies’ bottom line has been maximizing executive and shareholder profit at the expense of the people they’re supposed to serve,” said Cassie Steiner, Senior Campaign Coordinator. “Rate increase after rate increase, the PSC has sat idly by and done little to nothing to protect Wisconsinites from skyrocketing utility bills. People are being priced out of their homes and neighborhoods, and are suffering health harms from fossil fuels, because of We Energies. We’re not going to sit back and let this happen again.”
“The Dirty Truth report has once again revealed utilities’ overwhelming failure to plan a phase-out of their expensive and dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, and transition to clean energy,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “Every year that utilities drag their feet on the clean energy transition is another year where families pay record bills for expensive fossil fuels, another year of extreme weather events, and another year of air and water pollution threatening our health. We cannot afford to wait any longer to bring our grid into the 21st century. As artificial intelligence data centers drive demand for energy, utility companies are rushing to expensive and dangerous fossil fuels, leading to soaring electricity prices and worsening air pollution. The time is now for these companies to transition to affordable, reliable, clean energy to build a healthier and more sustainable energy future. The Sierra Club will continue to push utilities to deploy more renewable energy and work to lower costs and emissions.”
Background on the Dirty Truth
The Dirty Truth Report grades utilities across the country based on how much coal they are retiring, how much gas they are planning, and how much renewable energy they are adding. Nationally, the 76 utilities scored 7 out of 100 in aggregate. This is eight points lower than last year’s report and the lowest score in the report’s history.
Renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while coal and fossil fuels remain expensive and extremely harmful to public health. Despite this, the Dirty Truth Report shows that We Energies is doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This means higher bills for families, more dangerous pollution, and less reliable energy.
The full report is available on the Dirty Truth website or here.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.