According to a Wisconsin Watch report, Wisconsin utility ratepayers are still on the hook for nearly $1 billion for coal power plants that have, or will soon be, shut down.
Gov. Tony Evers and bipartisan proposals have sought to lower the cost, but Wisconsin utility groups and Republicans have blocked efforts to reduce costs.
According to the report, We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. have stranded assets on the books, assets that ratepayers will still pay for but do not produce any power.
We Energies estimated a remaining value of over $700 million across three power plants with recently retired units: Pleasant Prairie, Oak Creek and Presque Isle, a plant on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Overall, subsidies of WEC Energy Group, of which We Energies and WPSC are, will most likely have over $1 billion in recently retired assets by the end of 2026.
Ultimately, an overcommitment to coal, the report said, will have ratepayers on the hook for years to come.
