Madison, WI – As Wisconsin’s legislature considers SB28 and AB25, the controversial
Right of First Refusal (ROFR) proposal, voters are asking where Democrats stand: with
hardworking ratepayers or with the multi-millionaire executives at incumbent energy
companies?
SB28 would grant monopoly utility companies the exclusive right to build new
transmission projects—shutting out competition, driving up costs, and forcing Wisconsin
families and businesses to pay higher electric bills. Studies have shown that ROFR laws
lead to inflated project costs by allowing incumbent utilities to charge ratepayers more
without facing competitive bids.
“Wisconsin residents deserve lower energy costs and a fair market—not backroom deals
that guarantee profits for a handful of wealthy energy executives,” said Representative
Dan Knodl (R-Germantown). “Why should working families and small businesses foot
the bill for corporate greed?”
According to the most recent, publicly available Proxy Statements, the Board Chair and
CEO of Alliant Energy earned $9,709,782 in total compensation, the President and CEO
of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) earned $9,102,202, the Chairman and CEO of
Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) earned $2,566,797, and XCEL Energy’s Chairman and
CEO earned $21,357,168.
Yes, that’s more than TWENTY-ONE MILLION dollars in one year. Of course, compensation figures can vary between sources, but the numbers suggest that Wisconsinites are providing a more than comfortable living for the executives of companies in favor of ROFR.
Despite widespread opposition from consumer advocates and free-market supporters,
SB28 has gained traction with lawmakers aligned with the state’s largest utilities. The
question remains: Will Wisconsin Democrats reject this blatant corporate handout, or will
they side with ATC, Xcel, Alliant, and WEC over the interests of their constituents?
With utility rates already rising, Wisconsin cannot afford policies that eliminate
competition and allow monopoly utilities to pass unchecked costs onto the public. In a
funny but poignant social media post, a constituent quipped, “Just got my electricity bill
and I believe I got charged for the sunlight, the moonlight, the streetlight, the light of my
life, the speed of light, and the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Wisconsinites cannot afford ROFR. Voters deserve transparency—and they will be watching closely to see which lawmakers stand up for fair energy pricing and which one’s cave to special interests.
WCI COMMENTING RULES OF ETIQUETTE:
While open and honest debate is encouraged here, Washington County Insider asks that you comply with the following rules for posting. Those who do not comply will have their posts removed which may result in being banned from commenting.
Washington County Insider will not publish comments that:
Are considered likely to provoke, attack, or offend others. This is known as “trolling.” Trollers know when they are trolling, and so do we. *See definition of “troll” below. If you notice a few consistent blog trolls disappear, you’ll know why.
Are sexually explicit, abusive, or otherwise objectionable.
Contains inappropriate or vulgar language that is likely to offend.
Break the law or condone or encourage unlawful activity. This includes breach of copyright, defamation, and contempt of court.
Advertise products or services for profit.
Are seen to impersonate someone else.
Repeatedly post the same or similar messages (‘spam’)
Include personal contact details such as telephone numbers and postal or email addresses.
Include a link or photo that has not been approved by the editor prior to posting.
Are considered campaigning. See also “trolling” above.
Are unrelated to the topic.
NOTES:
Just because your comment doesn’t show up right away doesn’t mean you’re being censored. When you post a comment, it must first go through our filtering software. If it fails, your comment goes into a queue for manual approval.
Just because a comment or advertisement is on the site, doesn’t mean WCI endorses it.
The above rules are not intended to stop criticism or dissenters, but rather to stop those who are incapable of participating in a civilized manner.
*Trolling: a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll’s amusement. (source: Wikipedia)
All letters must include a US Postal address and direct cell/phone number for record keeping.
Email your political/election-related letters to the editor to washcoinsider@gmail.com
Deadline for letters to the editor for the April 1, 2025 spring election are due by 5 p.m. on March 22, 2025.