Customers who fall behind on their utility bills will soon face late fees and the prospect of having their power shut off after three months of government protection during the coronavirus pandemic. The Public Service Commission has voted unanimously to lift a moratorium on disconnections and other penalties that was put in place following executive orders issued by Gov. Tony Evers in March. Utilities will be allowed to send disconnection notices beginning July 15 to customers who are behind on their bills and have not worked out payment plans. Those customers could see power turned off as soon as July 25.

Heavy rains have caused a major headache for We Energies. The company issued the following statement: “Heavy rain has caused flooding in parts of our steam system in Downtown Milwaukee – creating large steam plumes in parts of downtown. We are investigating a steam system outage that is impacting some customers.” We Energies officials say they don’t know what exactly caused the system of underground steam tunnels in downtown Milwaukee to be flooded with an unprecedented “tidal wave” of water during a major rainstorm. Not only did the steam outage leave hundreds of businesses without heat and hot water for several days, it did major damage to We Energies’ historic headquarters at North 2nd and West Michigan streets. “The estimate to repair is more than $10 million and may take as long as two months before we can reopen the building,” We Energies spokesman Brendan Conway said.

Xcel Energy transmission patrol crew has been flying helicopters alongside lines in Wisconsin to perform inspections to ensure the electric system remains reliable through the summer cooling months. The inspections also meet federal regulatory compliance requirements to secure a reliable electric system.
The crews will identify potential trouble spots along these lines or structural issues that need to be addressed and repaired. They will also look for encroachment issues, such as buildings on or near right of ways, or trees growing too close to transmission lines. Inspections on all Xcel Energy transmission lines in Wisconsin will take about 4-6 weeks. Helicopters will fly within fifty feet of transmission lines at varying speeds. At times the helicopter will hover near infrastructure to perform more detailed inspections. The exact flight schedule is dependent on weather and flying conditions.

Madison Gas and Electric has filed an application with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) for approval of a 20-megawatt solar array to be built in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Known as the O’Brien Solar Fields, the project will provide locally generated solar energy to local businesses, municipalities and public institutions under MGE’s innovative Renewable Energy Rider.

“This is an exciting project for our participating customers and for MGE. Twenty megawatts of locally generated, cost effective carbon-free energy on our electric grid will help us achieve our goal of net-zero carbon electricity by 2050
and the sustainability goals of these customers,” according to MGE Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Keebler. “We
are thankful for their support and their participation and look forward to bringing what will be one of the largest solar
arrays in the state to Dane County.”

Alliant Energy has announced plans to acquire and advance 675 megawatts (MW) of solar in mostly rural areas in six Wisconsin counties: Grant, Jefferson, Richland, Rock, Sheboygan and Wood. The projects are the next step in the company’s Clean Energy Blueprint, a strategic road map to cost-effectively accelerate renewable energy while reducing carbon emissions. 

Once operational, the energy from the projects will be enough to power 175,000 homes per year – making Alliant Energy the largest owner-operator of solar in Wisconsin. Collectively, these projects are expected to create more than 1,200 local construction jobs, and, once operational, will provide an estimated $80 million in local tax revenues over the next 30 years.
“Solar energy is a smart investment for our Wisconsin customers,” said David de Leon, President of Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin energy company. “At a time when much is changing, these projects will provide steady revenue to Wisconsin communities, create new construction, operation and maintenance jobs, and provide our customers with reliable and sustainable energy for years to come. Along with the rest of the Clean Energy Blueprint, these projects will help customers avoid more than $2 billion in long-term costs.”

WEC Energy Group has reported net income of $452.5 million, or $1.43 per share, for the first quarter of 2020 – up from $420.1 million, or $1.33 per share, for the first quarter of 2019. Consolidated revenues totaled $2.1 billion, down $268.8 million from last year’s first quarter.

“We delivered another solid quarter, despite mild winter temperatures and an economic downturn that began in late March as businesses closed to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Gale Klappa, Executive Chairman. “In the months ahead, we will continue to focus on employee safety and on executing the fundamentals of our business – world-class reliability, customer satisfaction and financial discipline.” He added, “Our team is experienced and resilient. I’m confident we’ll shine through the challenges ahead.”

The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) has announced that Alliant Energy’s West Riverside Energy Center project recently earned the Envision Platinum rating for sustainable infrastructure – the highest Envision recognition level.

This is Alliant Energy’s sixth power generation facility to receive Envision recognition, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure planning and design. 

Madison Gas and Electric has received approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin for an agreement to partner with Dane County on a 9-megawatt (MW) solar array near the Dane County Regional Airport. The solar array will generate enough carbon-free electricity to provide Dane County with about 40% of the energy used by all County-owned facilities, according to the County.

“Clean energy is important to MGE, to Dane County, and to many who live and work here. We support the County’s clean energy goals and are excited to partner on this project to add more locally generated renewable energy,” according to MGE Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Keebler. “Partnerships like this will help MGE achieve net-zero carbon electricity for all of our customers by 2050.”

Alliant Energy says the COVID-19 pandemic will likely cause a 5 percent decline in sales, but should not affect shareholder profits this year. Alliant has announced first-quarter profits of 70 cents per share, up from 53 cents in the same period last year.

The gains were attributed to growing ratepayer-backed investments by its Wisconsin and Iowa utilities, offset by lower sales attributed to mild weather. Alliant said quarterly earnings were not significantly affected by COVID-19.

At WEC Energy Group’s virtual annual meeting of stockholders Executive Chairman Gale Klappa and President and CEO Kevin Fletcher highlighted the work of more than 7,000 employees across the region, who are providing essential energy service during the COVID-19 health crisis. They also emphasized that 2019 was “another year of solid results,” pointing to achievements in financial performance, network reliability and infrastructure upgrades.

The Board of Directors of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: XEL) declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of 43 cents per share. The dividends are payable July 20, 2020, to shareholders of record on June 15, 2020.

Due to COVID 19 and stay at home orders, the Public Utility companies will be hosting their stockholder Annual meetings virtually. Below is the list of companies, their meeting date, and how to attend. 

WEC Energy Group
WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) will hold a virtual-only 2020 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 6, at 1:30 p.m. Central/2:30 p.m. Eastern time.  Sign Up

MGE Energy 2020 Annual Meeting Update 
This is an important update regarding our Annual Meeting on May 19, 2020, at 11 a.m. CST.
Since the printing of your proxy materials, we have modified the format of our Annual Meeting from an in-person meeting to a virtual meeting. Sign Up Online