We Energies to raise rates

We Energies rate increases 2011: Wisconsin electricity rates rise as Point Beach credits expire; industrial customers face 13% hikes, small businesses 8-10%, residents under 5%, prompting bill reviews and energy efficiency via Focus on Energy.

Wisconsin’s biggest electric utility will have some big rate increases when the New Year begins.

We Energies says industrial and large business customers can expect to pay 13-percent more amid a We Energies rate hike tied to higher costs. Most other businesses face an 8-to-10-percent rate hike as the MGE rate request illustrates statewide. And residents will pay just under five-percent more. We Energies’ customers in eastern Wisconsin have been getting credits on their bills for the last three years, after the utility sold its share of the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant near Two Rivers. But those credits expire on January 1, 2011.

Todd Stuart of the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group said his members knew it was coming, but it still hurts. He said one large company faces a 20-percent increase in its electric costs, and customers behind on bills are becoming more common across Wisconsin. We Energies has contacted 20-thousand business customers to warn them about the impending increase, as service disconnections have been rising in Milwaukee lately. It will also be explained to everyone in their next bills.

The utility shared 700-million-dollars in proceeds from the Point Beach plant sale. It netted We Energies just over a billion dollars, even as Wisconsin utility stocks posted gains that year. Brian Manthey of We Energies says companies should analyze their bills to make sure they’re in the correct rate class. He said the recession might have dropped some of them down a notch. Also, Wisconsin Focus-on-Energy says it’s been getting more inquiries from companies looking to become more energy-efficient.

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