News

MGE Energy has reported its most recent earnings per share as $1.32 This exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.13 by 16.81 percent. By comparison, MGE Energy reported EPS of $1.14 in the same quarter last year. A regular quarterly dividend of $0.4750 per share on the outstanding shares of the company's common stock will be payable June 15, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business June 1, 2026.

MGE Energy has increased its dividend annually for the past 50 years and has paid cash dividends for more than 110 years.

The Board of Directors of Xcel has declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of 59.25 cents per share. The dividends are payable July 20, 2026, to shareholders of record on June 15, 2026.

The Board of Directors of WEC Energy Group has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 95.25 cents per share on the company's common stock.

The dividend was payable June 1, 2026, to stockholders of record on May 14, 2026. This marks the 335^th consecutive quarter — dating back to 1942 — that the company will have paid a dividend to its stockholders.

• First quarter GAAP earnings per share were $0.87 in 2026, compared to $0.83 in 2025
• First quarter ongoing earnings per share were $0.82 in 2026, compared to $0.83 in 2025
• Reaffirming 2026 ongoing earnings guidance range of $3.36 - $3.46 per share
• Signed an approximately 370 MW electric service agreement in Iowa, total contracted data center demand is now approximately 3.4 GW

“We are off to a strong start in 2026, delivering approximately 25 percent of our ongoing earnings guidance midpoint, and reaffirming our full-year ongoing EPS outlook,” according to Lisa Barton, Alliant Energy President and CEO. “Our results reflect disciplined execution and continued momentum in data center growth, including the signing of a new electric service agreement in Iowa for approximately 370 megawatts of contracted demand. With five executed agreements, we are translating customer demand into well-structured, long-term growth that benefits investors, existing customers and communities.”

The President and CEO of WEC Energy Group sees the potential for more hyperscale data centers with very large customers.  Scott Lauber made the comments during the company’s earnings call. He said he’s optimistic about new projects in Wisconsin now that the Public Service Commission has approved special rates for very large customers in response to data center development.

“We hopefully will have another announcement to make” this fall, Lauber said. 

Tech companies or developers will be expected to pay all costs tied to power plants and transmission lines being built to serve their data centers. Even without new large customers, the company is planning for a 3.9 gigawatt increase in demand over the next five years due to Microsoft’s $20 billion investment in data centers in Mount Pleasant and the $15 billion data center campus being built by Vantage Data Centers in Port Washington.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has reviewed We Energies’ Very Large Customer (VLC) and Bespoke Resources Tariff application and issued a decision that modifies provisions relating to the energy-related costs data centers pay.

The Commission does not regulate the permitting, construction, or operations of data center facilities. In March 2025, We Energies submitted an application proposing the new tariffs in response to large data center customers entering the utility’s service territory. The PSC conducted a year-long review of the tariff application, which included analysis by PSC staff and intervening parties and a public engagement process. In its decision, the Commission made modifications to the tariff. Following is a non-exhaustive list of actions taken by the PSC:

• The Commission extended the VLC tariff minimum initial term length to 15 years. • The Commission lowered the energy demand threshold for tariff eligibility from 500 MW to 100 MW. This change expands tariff applicability to smaller data centers. • The Commission required tariff revisions relating to transmission costs. • The Commission removed a capacity-only option that would have allowed data centers to pay 75 percent of the costs of generating facilities. The removal of this capacity-only option and the approval of the Full-Benefits resource model will require data centers to pay 100 percent of their costs. • The Commission established additional reporting requirements to evaluate how the tariffs work in practice and created a mechanism for the Commission to make future adjustments if needed. 

Xcel Energy is beginning to send more than $130 million in additional savings to its Upper Midwest customers from federal tax credits on the energy generated by the company’s nuclear fleet. This brings the total savings to more than $330 million over the first two years of the credits.

“Our Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear plants are critical to our region’s energy security. Together, they deliver more than one-quarter of the electricity that our Upper Midwest customers use to power their homes and businesses,” according to Bria Shea, President of Xcel Energy—Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “We advocated for these tax credits on nuclear energy generation in federal law. They represent yet another way our carbon-free, always-available nuclear fleet delivers for our customers and states.”

The average refund, based on average residential usage in each state, will be:

• $2.46 per month in Minnesota over a nine-month period starting April 1. The total refund in Minnesota is $83.1 million.
• $2.05 per month in North Dakota over a 12-month period starting April 1. The total refund in North Dakota is $5.8 million.
• $2.26 per month in South Dakota over a 10-month period likely to start May 1. The total refund in South Dakota is $6 million.

In Wisconsin and Michigan, the company included the credits in setting rates that started January. 1, 2026. In Wisconsin, that will result in a decrease of $37.5 million and in Michigan a decrease of $300,000.

“We’re committed to supporting economic growth, investing in our communities, delivering reliable and resilient electricity, and keeping customers’ bills low,” according to Karl Hoesly, President of Xcel Energy—Wisconsin and Michigan. “Our nuclear plants help us deliver on all of those commitments with round-the-clock power.”

The federal tax credit for nuclear energy generation was created under a 2022 federal law and continued under a 2025 law. Nuclear energy enjoys broad support among policymakers and the public because it’s the only energy source available that is both carbon free and available 24/7.

Xcel Energy’s two nuclear power plants, Monticello and Prairie Island, together accounted for 27% of the electricity used by customers across the company’s five-state Upper Midwest system in 2025. Xcel Energy has received federal approval to extend the operating life of its Monticello nuclear plant well into the future, and the company plans to seek a similar extension for its Prairie Island plant.

The Board of Directors of WEC Energy Group has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 95.25 cents per share on the company's common stock.

The dividend is payable June 1, 2026, to stockholders of record on May 14, 2026. This marks the 335^th consecutive quarter — dating back to 1942 — that the company will have paid a dividend to its stockholders.

A coalition of electric utilities, including two major players in Wisconsin’s power supply, is seeking federal intervention to pause competitive bidding for transmission projects needed to meet the vast energy needs of the data center boom.

The coalition has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking the agency to exempt at least some major grid upgrades from bidding, arguing “bureaucratic red tape” can tack months onto project timelines and strain the country’s ability to “achieve dominance” in artificial intelligence. 

“This complaint is about whether our country will seize, or squander, a generational chance to own the next century,” the utilities wrote.

Among the companies seeking the exemption are Xcel Energy, owner of Northern States Power Company-Wisconsin, and American Transmission Company (ATC), which owns and operates transmission lines across much of Wisconsin.

We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, both owned by WEC Energy Group, filed requests with the state Public Service Commission for rate hikes in 2027 and 2028.

The rate increase will help cover the cost of bringing new solar, wind, battery storage and natural gas projects online, as well as fund investments in tree trimming, burying power lines and replacing aging equipment.

“No one wants to see rising energy bills,” said Brendan Conway, a spokesperson for We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service. “Our filing reflects the realities that our customers count on us every day for the energy they need. We recognize it’s our responsibility to continue providing safe and reliable energy while keeping customer bills low for winter heating costs,” he said. “The combined effect of that is taking a toll on people.”

We Energies is asking regulators for a 4.7 percent increase to its base electric rates in 2027 and another 4.5 percent increase in 2028. That translates into a typical residential customer seeing a $13 increase in their monthly electric bill next year and an $8 to $9 increase the following year. 

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Public Service is seeking a base electric rate increase of 6.3 percent in 2027 and another 3.5 percent increase in 2028. That comes out to an $11 increase in a typical monthly electric bill next year and a $5 to $5.50 increase the following year.