We Energies Delays Coal Plant Again, Proposes 4.7% Rate Hike
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- We Energies proposed raising residential and small business rates by 4.7% in 2027 and 4.5% in 2028, with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission set to rule before year's end.
- The Oak Creek coal plant, originally scheduled to retire in 2023, has now been pushed back in 2025, again in 2026, and now through 2027.
- Sierra Club Wisconsin Campaign Coordinator Jadine Sonoda called We Energies "Wisconsin's largest and most profitable utility" that keeps "squeezing us for more money" with broken coal-retirement promises.
- Sonoda framed the rush to build data centers in Wisconsin as a "huge cash-grab" for Big Tech, accusing We Energies of wanting to supply that demand with fossil fuels rather than clean energy.
- The Wisconsin PSC has failed to block We Energies' last several rate increases, according to Sierra Club, which is now pressing the regulator to intervene.
Why it matters: If the PSC approves, Wisconsin families and small businesses face a combined 9.2% rate increase over 2027–2028 while We Energies continues burning coal at Oak Creek past its 2023 retirement deadline. Sierra Club frames the pending decision as a test of whether the regulator will finally push back on the state's largest utility after greenlighting prior increases.
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