We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service Seek Rate Hikes, Big Battery Booms
04 November 2026
Wisconsin regulators are weighing major utility projects and rate hikes as electricity demand grows and state clean energy goals loom.
We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, the state's two largest investor-owned utilities, have filed for sizable rate increases to fund a suite of new renewable and grid modernization projects. If approved, the increases would add to the approximately 1,132 megawatts of battery storage the Public Service Commission has authorized since 2019, almost all paired with solar generation.
The move comes as utilities and state policy makers lock in firm plans around a major generation transition. State law sets an 80% clean energy standard for 2050, with interim targets that translate to a roughly 60% share for non-emitting sources by 2030. Utilities are putting in place the generation, grid assets, and regional delivery connection points needed to meet that new benchmark.
A WEC Energy Group project page lists the expanded renewable energy portfolio planned over the next two years. For We Energies, this includes multiple suburban solar farms, such as the Akron Solar Park, Emerald Bluffs, Superior, and Whitewater projects, all with anticipated PSC approval in the fourth quarter of this year.
USD 518m+ Demand From Big Tech
The company's project page also lists the 280-400 megawatt Koshkonong and High Noon solar-and-storage parks as additional investments in Wisconsin's renewable energy push. Announced in April 2023, those solar-plus-storage projects are estimated at USD 518m, to serve customers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. According to WEC CEO Scott Lauber, they will add to the USD 580m 2022-2024 spend on eight such projects, of which four are now operational, representing 20% of WEC's regulated solar and storage capacity.
The scale of the new planned renewables, though, is overshadowed by the capacity growth coming from newer, two to four megawatt data centers. Already, the largest corporate energy customers in Wisconsin are technology and cloud computing companies. As WEC Energy CEO Scott Lauber noted in an October earnings call, new data center demand has grown to 400 megawatts of projected five-year demand for a specific customer segment. Analysts say this aligns with expected growth in data center investment following the expansion limitations in Virginia.
We Energies is leveraging its scale through corporate contracts, Lauber notes, and seeing about a 10% load and cash flow contribution from this new demand. But for residential customers, the renewable energy transition may mean an extra USD 13 monthly increase by 2027, according to We Energies filings with the PSC.
The cost impact is growing for Wisconsin Public Service ratepayers, too. The company's planned USD 15.2bn investment over the 2024-2028 period—USD 9.1bn on generation and USD 6.1bn on transmission and distribution—could lead to a 6.3% increase in 2027 and a 3.5% rise the next year.
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A further factor is the pressure from new large users, including the impact from approximately USD 2bn in data center investment flowing into Wisconsin, with companies including Amazon, Google, and Rackspace making or planning investments. These companies cite Wisconsin's primarily carbon-free energy mix as a key factor. However, the PSC notes that Wisconsin businesses and homeowners ultimately bear the impact of that demand on the state's grid infrastructure.
We Energies says that 10% of its forecasted demand growth comes from data centers, and notes that "data centers are more energy efficient than older industrial facilities." The company describes this as a strategic core investment that doesn't divert resources from renewables—and a "significant factor" in WEC Energy's overall growth and operational efficiency.
However, critics question whether this efficiency accounts for the additional infrastructure costs being recovered through general rate increases rather than being directly assigned to the large consumers driving the demand, as some consumer advocates have noted.
The company acknowledges this concern while arguing that continued investment represents a balance of interests. The CEO reported that new data center customers have committed USD 1.9 billion toward the infrastructure, equipment, and energy needed to serve them in 2027-2028.
Rate increase supporters point to the USD 6.7bn planned for renewables, including an additional USD 1.5bn for solar and USD 600m for battery storage.
The PSC will need to determine whether the current balancing approach adequately protects residential consumers as the state transitions from its traditional centralized generation model. Wisconsin's 2024 Clean Energy Plan acknowledges the challenge of fairly allocating costs as the energy system evolves.