August 7, 2026 – Washington Co., WI – Wisconsin is increasingly becoming a destination for large energy-intensive developments. Advanced manufacturing facilities, data centers, and other major investments bring jobs, tax base growth, and economic opportunity to our state, but they also raise an important question: Who should pay for the massive amounts of electricity these facilities require? The answer should be simple. If a project requires extraordinary amounts of power, the project should be responsible for providing and paying for that power.
In other words: Bring Your Own Energy.
Over the past several years, lawmakers, regulators, utilities, and consumer advocates have begun grappling with unprecedented electricity demands. A single large project can consume as much electricity as a small city. Some proposed facilities require hundreds of megawatts of power, with future projects potentially demanding even more. Those facilities are not inherently a problem.
The problem arises when existing residential, commercial, and industrial ratepayers are expected to bear the costs of all the new electricity.
Wisconsin families are already facing skyrocketing utility bills. Businesses are already struggling with increasing energy costs. The last thing ratepayers need is to subsidize infrastructure built primarily to serve some of the world’s largest corporations.
These increased costs are why I supported eliminating the state sales tax for electricity in the budget and efforts to strengthen ratepayer protections during the Public Service Commission’s recent review of a proposed data center tariff.
If a new facility requires additional generation capacity, transmission infrastructure, substations, or grid upgrades, the beneficiaries of those investments should bear the costs whenever possible. Wisconsin should embrace a policy that encourages large energy users to develop dedicated energy resources alongside their projects. This means that a company seeking to build a large data center could construct or finance its own generation facility as part of the project. That generation could be located on-site or nearby and designed specifically to meet the facility’s energy demands.
Such an approach offers several advantages. First, it protects existing ratepayers from cost shifting. Second, it reduces strain on Wisconsin’s existing generation fleet. Third, it can reduce the need for expensive new transmission infrastructure that often takes years to permit and construct. Fourth, it improves reliability by creating additional generation resources rather than simply adding new demand to an already stressed system.
This concept is particularly promising as new technologies emerge. Small modular nuclear reactors, often referred to as SMRs, have the potential to provide reliable, carbon-free electricity around the clock. Unlike intermittent energy sources, advanced nuclear technologies can provide the consistent baseload power that data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities require.
While SMRs are still developing commercially, Wisconsin should position itself to be a leader rather than a follower.
Imagine a future in which a major data center announces plans to locate in Wisconsin and simultaneously commits to constructing dedicated generation capacity to support its operations. Instead of increasing pressure on existing customers, the project would add both economic development and new energy resources to the state. That is a win-win outcome.
To be clear, “Bring Your Own Energy” should not mean that every large customer is required to build a power plant. Rather, it should become a guiding principle for policymakers, utilities, and regulators when evaluating projects with extraordinary energy demands.
Wisconsin can welcome new investment while protecting families and businesses from unnecessary costs. We can support innovation without compromising reliability and encourage development without forcing existing customers to subsidize it.
The future will require more electricity. If you need more power, bring your own energy.
