Contact: Elizabeth Ward, elizabeth.ward@sierraclub.org, (608) 445-4489
On Friday, We Energies asked the Public Service Commission for permission to increase fees on customers that have solar panels. The fee would increase with the size of the solar installation. The proposal includes an increase of the mandatory fee (or fixed fee) that customers pay simply for having electricity. Mandatory charges have a disproportionate impact on low-income and fixed-income residents and reduce the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency and clean energy investments.
In response, Sierra Club Wisconsin’s Elizabeth Ward released the following statement:
“At a time when we need to be working together to get more solar and other clean energy in Wisconsin, We Energies is actively working to add barriers and disincentives to more solar in Wisconsin. With the approval of the solar farms last month, we know that the Commission and We Energies recognize the benefits and need for solar energy. Apparently, WE only supports solar if they own it.
We need Wisconsin to come together to quickly shift away from fossil fuels to clean energy in order to protect our health, safety, climate, and economy. Instead, We Energies continues to utilize its dirty coal plants and try to stop customers from participating in the solution.”
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. In Wisconsin, the Sierra Club - John Muir Chapter’s 18,000 members work to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org/wisconsin.