Tuesday, April 1, 2025
We Energies proposes special electric rate for data centers. Aim is to protect other customers.
Rick Barrett
We Energies on Monday proposed a special electric rate aimed at data centers including the Microsoft center under construction in Mount Pleasant and a proposed facility in Port Washngton.
The rate is meant to ensure that other ratepayers are not saddled with costs associated with building power plants and electric infrastructure necessary for power-hungry data centers, according to the state's largest utility.
The rate could apply to other very large industrial We Energies customers in Wisconsin, although it was essentially written for data centers which are in a league of their own when it comes to power consumption.
Data centers house thousands of computers, in one or more buildings, linked to the outside world by fiber optic cables. They enable most everyday online activities, including social media, streaming video, banking, ChatGPT and much more.
Most people think of data centers, collectively, as “the cloud.” If all data centers suddenly went dark, you'd quickly notice — you couldn't stream movies, use online documents, or access social media, for example.
The first phase alone of Microsoft’s data center in Mount Pleasant will likely require the same amount of electricity needed to power more than 300,000 homes, according to information obtained by the Journal Sentinel earlier.
Put into context, the City of Milwaukee has around 262,000 housing units.
Goal is to have owners of data centers pay for the power they need
The new electric rate would have nine billing determinants, according to the PSC filing.
One of them is an administrative charge which includes a fixed cost of $213,118 per billing period plus the variable cost of $305 per megawatt of Maximum Customer Demand per billing period. This monthly charge covers the full personnel and overhead costs dedicated to serving any new VLC (very large customer), the filing says.
"Under this (rate) proposal, very large customers such as data centers will have access to reliable power to meet their needs. These large customers will directly pay for the power they consume, along with costs of the power generation plants and distribution facilities built to serve them," We Energies said in a statement.
"We have worked for several months to develop a proposal that ensures that all of our customers are protected. We designed the rate to make sure no costs to serve these new customers will be subsidized by, or shifted to, other residential or business customers. This is important to us and to the very large customers we have been working with — they are committed to paying their fair share," the statement said.
The rate proposal now goes to the state Public Service Commission for its consideration, a process which will likely take months and involve public hearings before a decision is made.
"It's good to see this finally reach the light of day. The fact is, this should have been the first application proposed to the state PSC, not the $2.2 billion in natural gas plants that it applied for -- the same application that led to six hours of testimony and a PSC hearing ending with people still waiting to speak out on the project," said Tom Content, executive director of the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin.
"The Wisconsin Legislature granted discounted energy rates to Foxconn, and by extension, to Microsoft for locating in the information technology zone in Racine County. That's why we appreciated Microsoft's pledge to pay its fair share for the assets needed to serve its project -- but we need more specifics. Today we're seeing some of those details emerge for the first time," Content said.
"The PSC must ensure there is a robust analysis and a transparent process to evaluate this proposal — to ensure that it lives up to the commitments that We Energies is making, and that Main Street businesses, homeowners and renters won't be subsidizing a big data center," he added.
Microsoft has said it would pay its share of costs
Microsoft has said it's working with We Energies to bring to the power grid new sources of electricity equal to the amount the Mount Pleasant data center will use without leading to an increase in the price of electricity for its neighbors.
Even if Microsoft walks away from a Wisconsin data center years from now, the company says, it would still be responsible for any costs incurred by We Energies for the forecasted energy load.
“We don't take those investments lightly,” a Microsoft spokesman said Monday.
However, data centers have been the focus of critics who say We Energies is using them as an excuse to build a $1.2 billion gas-fired power plant in Oak Creek where the current coal power plant will be shut down.
Critics have said air quality in southeast Wisconsin and beyond would worsen from hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually. The burning of natural gas, also called methane, emits pollutants that contribute to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Also, as data technology evolves, the energy usage could decrease significantly. There’s a risk of how much of the demand for data centers will actually materialize in Wisconsin when many states are bidding for the projects.
"With all the hype, there's a fever pitch where there will be a lot more data center announcements than there are actually going to be data centers built," said Content with Wisconsin's CUB.
"So, we're concerned about where does rhetoric meet reality? In recent months we've seen technological advancements in AI questioning how much energy will be needed, we've seen uncertainty given Microsoft with pauses in construction, and we've seen widespread opposition to the natural gas projects. All this creates a very uncertain time for the state to be making billion-dollar decisions about power plants that are built to last generations," he added.
Earlier in March, without explanation, Microsoft paused construction on expansion sites for the Mount Pleasant location.
However the company says its commitments to Wisconsin have not changed and that it supports the proposed special electric rate.
“Microsoft is committed to being a responsible neighbor in Wisconsin. As we continue to develop a $3.3 billion data center campus in Mount Pleasant, the draft tariffs submitted to the Public Service Commission will ensure we are protecting other rate payers, paying our own way, and ensuring energy needs are met throughout the state," Bobby Hollis, Microsoft's vice president of energy, said in an email Monday to the Journal Sentinel.
Other states are weighing special electric rates for data centers
Nationwide, there are growing concerns about the power and water demands of data centers that are being built as part of the next generation of technology based on artificial intellience needs.
Oregon and other states are considering legislation that would require large energy users, such as data centers, to pay their share for power generation.
"The demand for energy is growing rapidly in Oregon, mainly from data centers and other big tech," the Oregon Citizens Utility Board says on its website.
"This mass influx of very large energy users is putting a strain on our energy system and driving up costs for everyone. We’re already seeing the impact of large energy users not paying their share. As we have seen significant growth in data centers, we have seen big increases in energy bills," Oregon's CUB says.
This story has been updated with new information.
From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/energy/2025/03/31/we-energies-proposes-making-microsoft-pay-for-data-center-power-needs/82745999007/
Monday, March 31, 2025
Sunday, March 30, 2025
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Appeals Court rejects AG Josh Kaul's effort to block Elon Musk payments to Wisconsin voters
Molly Beck
MADISON - A panel of state appeals judges on Saturday rejected an effort by Attorney General Josh Kaul to block Elon Musk from paying voters in Wisconsin ahead of a pivotal state Supreme Court election on Tuesday.
A Madison-based state appeals court on Saturday declined to quickly intervene in an event Musk planned to hold Sunday during which he initially said he would pay two voters each $1 million and later backtracked and said the money would go to people who signed a petition to oppose judges who rule against President Donald Trump.
The appeals panel rejected a motion filed by Kaul late Friday seeking emergency relief after a Columbia County circuit judge rejected hearing Kaul's lawsuit against Musk before Sunday, according to Kaul.
Now, Kaul may ask the state Supreme Court to step in before Sunday but a spokesman for Kaul did not immediately say whether the Democratic attorney general planned to ask the high court.
In the order from the appeals court, the judges wrote Kaul had not filed or supported his request properly, which forced them to deny the request.
In a since-deleted post on X, Musk said he would hold an event Sunday in Wisconsin and hand out $1 million checks to voters "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote."
But after election experts and Democrats raised questions about whether the offer violated the state's election bribery laws, Musk deleted the post and said he would instead be handing over the checks to two people who would serve as spokespeople for his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." The new post also no longer said attendance would be limited "to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election," as the original post had stated.
"To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges," Musk wrote. "I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition."
Musk, a close ally of Trump, has poured about $20 million into the race to back conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel through spending from his own coffers and via two outside groups.
Schimel has sought to distance himself from Musk's event in recent days.
"We have no plans to be there. We have a very aggressive campaign calendar," Schimel told reporters Friday. "I have no idea what he's doing. I have no idea what this rally is."
Liberal Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford called Musk's activities "immoral" on Saturday.
Kaul's lawsuit seeks a restraining order barring Musk "from any further promotion of the million-dollar gifts" to attendees of the planned Sunday event and "from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote."
In an odd twist, Crawford was initially assigned to oversee the case involving her race but a spokesman said it was a random assignment and that she will recuse.
The case was quickly reassigned to Columbia County Circuit Judge W. Andrew Voigt.
A spokesman for America PAC declined to comment on Kaul's plans.
The move comes after Kaul and Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern received a letter from the liberal Madison-based Law Forward legal firm, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and State Democracy Defenders Fund seeking "an immediate investigation."The groups asked Kaul and Lovern to review Musk's America PAC's offer to pay $100 to Wisconsin voters for signing a petition opposing 'activist judges' who have ruled against President Donald Trump and Musk's Thursday announcement of plans to give two voters each $1 million checks.
Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
Racine County restaurant owners react to rising egg prices
Caroline Neal
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In Glenview, Illinois, eggs cost $8.79 on Jan. 10. In the Midwest, egg prices have increased 102.6% compared to February 2024. |
RACINE COUNTY — Local breakfast diners and cafes in Racine County are feeling the impact of rising egg prices because of the avian flu outbreak.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in the United States, egg prices have increased 96.8% since February 2024, with consumers paying around $5.89 for a dozen of large, grade A eggs.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, wholesale egg prices declined “sharply” this month but are predicted to increase 57.6% in 2025.
Last year, egg farmers nationwide lost 38.4 million birds because of avian flu, USDA data showed.
“It’s a lot for restaurants to absorb, particularly in smaller cities like Racine,” said Corey Oakland, owner of Red Onion Cafe. “Eggs are such a heavily used product. For us, as a breakfast restaurant, that impacts certain things.”
Data indicates the Midwest has seen a similar increase: Up from $2.90 in February 2024, grocery shoppers paid $5.89 for a dozen of large, grade A eggs last month, marking a 102.6% increase in the region.
Both Jordan Bashayreh, manager at Meli Cafe Pancake House and Restaurant, and Michael Scamarcia, owner of Douglas Avenue Diner, said increasing egg prices are affecting their businesses.
“The margin is not there anymore, but we cannot also increase prices on consumers and customers,” Bashayreh said. “So we drop down in our margin to keep the price reasonable for customers.”
Some restaurants, like Denny’s and Waffle House, announced surcharges in February to keep up with rising prices.
For Scamarcia, the rising prices were “the cost of doing business.”
“As a consumer, I don’t want to be nickeled and dimed to death,” he said.
Bashayreh, too, said he did not consider a surcharge because it would have to apply to most menu items.
“Pancakes have eggs, French toast has eggs, crepes have eggs, omelets, skillets — the main ingredient here is eggs,” he said.
Though Oakland said Red Onion recently increased its prices to keep up with inflation, the restaurant did not add a surcharge for eggs.
“I don’t believe necessarily in some of the fees I’ve been hearing about because in the end, for sure it hurts and it’s an increase,” he said. “But when you look at it in the biggest pictures, if you have one egg on something, it’s not an incredible expense.”
Restaurant owners like Scamarcia, Oakland and Bashayreh buy eggs through a distributor.
Each week, Scamarcia orders around 4,500 eggs, and Bashayreh said he receives at least 9,000 eggs with each order.
Scamarcia has noticed a decline in prices: The week of March 24, 15 dozen eggs cost about $75; the week before, the same amount cost around $120.
For Oakland, ordering eggs was “almost like a game.”
With each order, the prices would increase at least $10, eventually getting to $130 and $140 per case.
But, he’s also noticed a decrease in his last two invoices.
“It looks like maybe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel at this point,” he said. “Hopefully it goes down just as quickly. It’s one of those things sometimes where prices go up super, super quick, but it takes a long time to get them back down.”
Even with prices decreasing, however, Scamarcia said he is still paying more than double what he paid before they increased.
“Still have to contend with that,” he said. “It’s still higher than what we were paying.”
Bashayreh echoed this sentiment, noting that when egg prices have risen previously, they’ve never fully come back down.
According to Bashayreh, eggs were around $10 in 2019 and 2020.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, prices rose to $70-$90 per case. Prices later decreased to $40-$50, he said, but did not return to $9.
Bashayreh said he is expecting a similar trend this time around.
“It’s not going to go back like before the bird flu,” he said. “It’s going to go down a little bit, but it’s not going to go like before.”
After cyberattack, The Journal Times is back to full strength
Mike Boyd
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| Mike Boyd |
Since Feb. 3, when a cyberattack shut down most systems at Lee Enterprises, the parent company of The Journal Times, teams have been working day and night to bring you the complete newspaper you expect.
Today, we cannot be more pleased to tell you we are back to full strength.
For the past few days, you’ve probably noticed the newspaper has returned to its bigger size. It has more local news, sports and features, and we’ve brought back the Sunday Family & Life section. You’ll find your favorite columnists on the opinion page, and you’ll also see a return of some features we weren’t able to provide during the outage, such as A+.
We never stopped giving you the latest local news, sports and entertainment on journaltimes.com. But many of you have told us that you prefer to read a printed paper. One reader who wrote to us ended her handwritten letter with, “Coffee tastes so much better when you’re reading the paper.”
This outage wasn’t something we anticipated, and the road to recovery has been long. But along the way, you’ve shown the patience and grace typically reserved for a friend. And for that, we thank you.
We read every message of empathy and encouragement. And we read every note of frustration, too. You kept us motivated to move as fast as possible to resolve this issue and get back up to full speed.
We’re pleased to give you the paper you want and deserve, but we’re not satisfied to just return to normal. We’ll work hard to continue to be the best source of local news in Racine County.
Thank you for supporting the The Journal Times.
Saturday, March 29, 2025
AP photographer who took iconic Trump photo now barred from many White House events
Friday, March 28, 2025
Elon Musk is coming to Wisconsin ahead of state's 2025 Supreme Court election. What we know, don't know about DOGE leader's visit.
Christopher Kuhagen
Elon Musk has already poured in millions of dollars into the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election to help Waukesha County judge and conservative candidate Brad Schimel defeat Dane County judge and liberal candidate Susan Crawford.
Now, the billionaire says he's coming to the state two days before the high-stakes election.
The tech giant and leader of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency agency, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday night that he'll be in Wisconsin on Sunday.
Musk, the world's richest person, initially said he will give out two $1 million checks to people who have already voted. However, by late Friday morning, Musk's post has since been deleted. Musk owns X.
Shortly after, though, he posted again, clarifying that the checks would be given to individuals who would serve as spokespeople for his "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges." The new post also no longer said attendance would be limited "to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election," as the original post had said.
Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said Friday that he planned to take legal action to stop the payments.
Here's what we know about his announcement and his growing presence and financial contributions in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race:
Where will Elon Musk speak in Wisconsin?
Musk didn't mention in either of his tweets where in Wisconsin he'd be speaking Sunday.
In the second post, he just wrote that he'll give a talk in the state and that entrance will be limited to those who've signed the petition against "activist judges."
Elon Musk Wisconsin petition, America PAC
Musk's giveaway to Wisconsin voters comes after a Green Bay man received $1 million from Elon Musk's super PAC, America PAC, for the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
The man, who has been identified as Scott Ainsworth, signed Musk's "Petition In Opposition To Activist Judges."
America PAC also said it'll pay Wisconsin voters $100 to sign the petition, Axios reported. The plan could be illegal under state law, one Wisconsin election lawyer said. It's illegal for voters to receive or accept any money for their vote, according to state statutes.
Musk has spent $11.5 million through America PAC to promote Schimel and attack Crawford in the Supreme Court race. He's the largest donor in the race for either campaign.
Musk has funneled in nearly $20 million in support of Schimel, campaign records show. Musk, who campaigned for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, gave away millions of dollars last fall through his political action committee in swing states. Legal challenges failed.
When Trump won the presidency, he made Musk the head of DOGE, which he started that has gone on to fire thousands of federal employees from agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, National Park Service, the Agriculture Department and more.
Elon Musk net worth
Musk is the world's richest person with a net worth of over $344.9 billion, according to Forbes.
He co-founded several companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and xAI, an artificial startup. He bought Twitter, which he renamed X, for $44 billion in 2022.
Donald Trump has endorsed Brad Schimel in Wisconsin Supreme Court race
Musk isn't the only prominent name advocating for Schimel. President Donald Trump has been stumping hard for Schimel in recent days.
He endorsed Schimel last week on social media and, on Thursday, he appeared on a public call with the Waukesha County judge.
Trump encouraged voters to vote for Schimel and called Crawford a "hand-picked candidate of the Communists and Marxists." Former President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has endorsed Crawford, saying "there’s only one candidate ready to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of Wisconsinites: Judge Susan Crawford."
Wisconsin early voting
Nearly 500,000 people have already voted in Wisconsin for Tuesday's spring election with the Supreme Court battle between Schimel and Crawford the headliner.
The winner will help shape the ideological philosophies in Wisconsin. Liberal justices have a slim 4-3 lead heading into the election.
Voters will also determine the state's top education official as well as whether to make voter ID law permanent and add it to the state constitution. Voter ID is already a requirement in the state.
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