This was the top priority for WUI this legislative session because the bill would have unnecessarily increased energy costs and driven jobs from Wisconsin.

Over 500 grassroots WUI members contacted their legislators this week alone.  We also put so many calls in to our legislators that members complained the state toll-free hotline was overwhelmed.

WUI members prove once again that regular people can band together and make a difference!

Congratulation WUI Members!

Now, the PSC analysis has been analyzed and a major error has been found.

In a memo to Senate Clean Energy Jobs Committee Co-Chairman Jeff Plale, Steve Baas at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce explains the problem.

“…I believe the Commission has made a serious methodological error that distorts the actual cost impact of the bill and would like to bring it to your attention.”

Baas goes on to explain:

“But taking this Table 4 in isolation ignores the fact that prices are driven up in a reduced sales scenario so long as fixed costs are recovered in part by volumetric rates.”

What does this mean?  The PSC failed to consider that, even if folks use less energy through the conservation goals in the bill, $15 billion in construction will still have to be paid for.  Under the bill, lower use means higher rates to pay the higher costs of the bill.

Bottom Line:

As you can see, the results, using PSC’s own study numbers, indicate that the CEJA Sub proposal would increase electric rates between 6.4% and 12.5% above the status quo, depending on the assumption made for CO2 regulation costs. 

Even more likely are the increases Minnesota and Iowa are facing because they adopted a similar law:

In addition, we are concerned that even these estimates, derived from PSC’s own data points to 6.4% to 12.5% rate hike, still underestimates what we can expect based on real impacts in other states. For example, Minnesota and Iowa both adopted 25% by 2025 renewable mandates and now electric customers are facing rate increases of 14% and 20% respectively, with future hikes inevitable.

This is what WUI has been concerned about throughout this process.  It is easy for the state to mandate more spending and equally easy for them to “forget” that the bill must be paid.

ORGANIZATIONS OPPOSING THE CLEAN ENERGY JOBS ACT

Wisconsin Agricultural Groups

Cooperative Network

Dairy Business Association

Midwest Food Processors Association

Wisconsin Agribusiness Council

Wisconsin Agri-Service Association

Wisconsin Corn Growers Association

Wisconsin Crop Production Association

Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation

Wisconsin Pork Association

Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Association

Growmark Inc.

Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association

Wisconsin State Cranberries Growers Association

Wisconsin Business Associations

Aggregate Producers of Wisconsin

Alliance of Wisconsin Retailers, LLC

Associated Builders & Contractors of Wisconsin, Inc

Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin

Independent Business Association of Wisconsin

Midwest Equipment Dealers Association

National Federation of Independent Businesses – Wisconsin Chapter

Wisconsin Automobile & Truck Dealers Association

Wisconsin Automotive Aftermarket Association

Wisconsin Automotive Parts Association

Wisconsin Builders Association

Wisconsin Cast Metals Association

Wisconsin Economic Development Association

Wisconsin Engine Manufacturers & Distributors Alliance

Wisconsin Housing Alliance

Wisconsin Independent Businesses

Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce

Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association

Wisconsin Paper Council

Wisconsin Petroleum Council

Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association

Wisconsin Realtors Association

Wisconsin Restaurant Association

Wisconsin Retail Council

Wisconsin Utility Investors, Inc.

Local Chambers of Commerce

Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce

Fond du Lac Association of Commerce

Forward Janesville, Inc.

Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce

Heart of the Valley Chamber of Commerce

La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce

Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Menomonee Falls Chamber of Commerce

Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce

Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce

Racine Area Manufacturers & Commerce

Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce

Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce

West Bend Area Chamber of Commerce

Over 50 organizations with membership representing most of the jobs in Wisconsin have joined together in opposition to the so-called “Clean Energy Jobs Act” (AB 649/SB 450). AB 649 is scheduled for a vote in the state Assembly tomorrow. The bill has earned the opposition of employers from Wisconsin main streets to town roads because it would raise utility rates and eliminate jobs throughout Wisconsin.

 “What do the all these groups have in common?” said Todd Stuart of the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group. “We have all looked closely at this bill and see the same results – it will increase energy costs and lead to fewer Wisconsin jobs.”

 Many of the organizations had hoped that the revised bill would contain new cost containment measures. “We were surprised that the amendment up for vote did little to address our concerns over costs,” said Bill Oemichen with the Cooperative Network and member of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming. “We had little choice but to oppose the bill considering its implications for rural Wisconsin.”

 The impact of the bill on Wisconsin competitiveness has been confusing to many because of competing studies from independent groups and the state bureaucracy. The state government says that sweeping new government powers and unprecedented utility expenditures will reduce energy bills and create private sector jobs. Independent organizations and private employers say mandating billions of dollars in unnecessary expenditures will increase costs for the consumers who pay for them.

 Both the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) calculations and private studies agree consumers will have to pay for over $15 billion in new energy costs over the next 15 years. The PSC argues that spending an extra $15 billion will save money.

 “Only government could argue that unnecessary spending would save money,” said Bill G. Smith of the National Federation of Independent Business. “My members live in the real world where unnecessary spending means unnecessary cost.”

 Nick George from the Midwest Food Processors Association agreed with Smith’s assessment. “We had to set the dueling studies aside and apply a little common sense. Our common sense analysis was: Consumers pay for utility construction. More construction equals more cost for consumers.”

 The bill gives the PSC broad authority to impose a tax on energy bills to pay for programs aimed at reducing energy use. The PSC must impose a tax sufficient to reduce energy consumption by 2% every year. Their “research” indicates that $700 million in energy taxes are needed to reduce consumption by 2%. If raising the tax doesn’t work, the PSC must raise the tax even more.

 “Whether you’re running a milking machine or a metal casting furnace, higher costs in Wisconsin make us less competitive with other states or countries,” said Brian Mitchell of the Wisconsin Cast Metals Association. “Whatever industry you represent knows you can’t keep jobs if you can’t compete.”

Tuesday, Democrat Leaders in the state Assembly came up with a brand new version of a 140 page global warming bill forcing a $700 million energy tax and over $15 billion in unnecessary energy costs on Wisconsin consumers and businesses.  They called a meeting to pass the bill with barely 24-hours notice.

When one of their own members complained that she hadn’t had time to consider the massive bill, they removed her from the committee.  How’s that for democracy?  

 That was Friday morning.

 Now they have snuck the bill onto the Assembly schedule for Tuesday.  That’s right.  They will force 99-members to vote on a bill their own committee member didn’t understand.

 What do we know about this bill?

-      It will cost 43,000 more Wisconsin residents their jobs.

-      Utilities warn it will force utility rates to rise from now until 2025.  

 -      Utility rates will rise faster than the incomes of many Senior Citizens. 

Those sound like some pretty good reasons to re-think this job killing bill.

 Please contact your legislator right now by clicking here.  We have had enough of politicians forcing unpopular, expensive, unnecessary laws on us! ]]> http://wuiinc.org/wp/?feed=rss2&p=772 0 http://wuiinc.org/wp/?p=748 http://wuiinc.org/wp/?p=748#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:21:56 +0000 admin http://wuiinc.org/wp/?p=748 Immediate Action Required!

Because most people understand global warming legislation kills jobs for no good reason, the Governor’s global warming legislation has been renamed the “Clean Energy Jobs Act” (AB 649/SB 450). The bill is being pushed now even though evidence of global warming has been seriously discredited and its proponents are in retreat worldwide.  

 A recent study of the Wisconsin Global Warming Bill by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute shows that it will:

 • ADD $16 BILLION IN UNNECESSARY COST TO WISCONSIN INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES 

  • LEAD TO 43,000 WISCONSIN JOBS LOST  

Congress and other states are backing away from these mandates, Wisconsin should too. If a bill must be passed it should:  

• Let utilities decide how to meet the goals in the most cost effective way. We have a Public Service Commission to approve any proposal. Let them work without strings attached.  

• Encourage green energy from wherever it can be produced the most cheaply to save consumers money.  

• Encourage all options for clean, safe power, including nuclear. Completely end the Nuclear Moratorium. Even President Obama supports the expansion of nuclear energy!  

• Not force Wisconsin utilities to buy energy from power producers who haven’t shown the commitment to Wisconsin that our utilities have.

• Only require utilities to provide renewable energy that doesn’t raise rates or threaten their ability to reliably provide energy whenever it is needed.  

These decisions are being made right now. The legislative process will end in April. Make your voice heard today by calling your legislator at 1-800-362-9472 or click here to use WUI PowerLines. ]]> http://wuiinc.org/wp/?feed=rss2&p=748 0 http://wuiinc.org/wp/?p=742 http://wuiinc.org/wp/?p=742#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:49:24 +0000 admin http://wuiinc.org/wp/?p=742 One of the most wasteful elements of Wisconsin’s global warming bill (AB 649/SB 450) is the Advanced Renewable Tariffs (ARTs) provision, other wise known as “feed-in tariffs.”

The provision would force Wisconsin utilities to pay a premium for energy generated by, among other things, small home wind turbines or photovoltaic solar panels.  Wisconsin utilities currently purchase a limited amount of this energy voluntarily.  The bill would mandate that utilities purchase this expensive, inefficient energy and pass the cost on to retepayers.

A look at the failure of “feed in tariffs” in Europe could save Wisconsina lot of expenses and headaches.

“So while the electricity you might generate from large wind turbines and hydro plants will earn you 4.5p per kilowatt hour, mini wind turbines get 34p, and solar panels 41p. In other words, the government acknowledges that micro wind and solar PV in the UK are between seven and nine times less cost-effective than the alternatives.”

“A new type of nuclear reactor—smaller than a rail car and one tenth the cost of a big plant—is emerging as a contender to reshape the nation’s resurgent nuclear power industry.”

Talking to advocates for Global Warming regulation, like the “Clean Energy Jobs Act” currently before the Wisconsin Legislature, one is continually amazed at their reliance on technologies that have yet to be conceived. 

Yet, most refuse to acknowledge real advances in nuclear technology that make Wisconsin’s Nuclear Moratorium objectively ridiculous.  Continuing this moratorium in their bill calls into question whether they really believe global warming is the crisis they say it is.

This Wall Street Journal article is about nuclear reactors the size of a house that can be buried at existing nuclear or coal plants to produce safe, emission free energy for at least 60-years at a reasonable cost.

“The first units likely would be built adjacent to existing nuclear plants, many of which were originally permitted to have two to four units but usually have only one or two. Down the road, utilities could replace existing coal-fired power plants with small reactors in order to take advantage of sites already served by transmission lines and, in some cases, needed for grid support. Like any other power plants, these small reactors could be easily hooked up to the power grid.”

The company that developed this system has been making similar units that have been safely operating in American nuclear submarines for decades.

The technology could be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the next several years. 

“While large reactors are built on site, a process that can take five years, the mPower reactors would be manufactured in Babcock & Wilcox’s factories in Indiana, Ohio or Virginia and transported by rail or barge. That could cut construction times in half, experts believe.”

Tell your elected representatives to oppose any global warming bill that doesn’t encourage nuclear energy in Wisconsin.  Use WUI PowerLines to make yourself heard!

“Promising “this is only the beginning,” President Barack Obama announced more than $8 billion in federal loan guarantees Tuesday for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the United States in nearly three decades.”

Those new jobs will be in Georgia.

That’s right, Georgia will get hundreds of permanent highly paid jobs, thousands of construction jobs AND $8 billion that will actually impact carbon emissions in their state.

Why not Wisconsin?

Good Question.

They call the Global Warming Task Force Bill the “Clean Energy Jobs Act” (SB 450/AB 649) but continue to effectively ban clean energy and jobs from nuclear energy.

Wisconsin’s archaic ban on new nuclear energy keeps our state from competing with progressive states like Georgia.

“Obama’s budget proposal for 2011 would add $36 billion in new federal loan guarantees to $18.5 billion already budgeted but not spent — for a total of $54.5 billion.”

Click here to access PowerLines and send a message to Governor Doyle and your other state elected officials!

Arizona’s Governor has issued an Executive Order pulling out of a multi-state effort to regulate “greenhouse gas emissions.” The Western Climate Initiative was a powerful coalition including seven states and four Canadian Provinces.

The action by Arizona shows how the popularity of these expensive, job-killing mandates is falling.

“…she [Arizona Governor Brewer] made it clear in an executive order that Arizona will not endorse the emission-control plan or any program that could raise costs for consumers and businesses.”

As other states back away from costly global warming mandates, the danger grows that a Wisconsin global warming bill could make us unable to attract new jobs.  The more states that pass global warming laws like the one Wisconsin is considering, the better states like Arizona look to growing businesses.

“If the goal is to have carbon-free generation, then the only real solution is nuclear energy. If the goal is clean energy, the solution is still nuclear energy. If it’s jobs, it really is nuclear energy for export,” Seitz says in a new WisPolitics interview.

Seitz said the group supports real changes to the state’s limits on the construction of new nuclear power plants. Still, he said any suggestion the climate change will actually loosen those limits is off base.

Seitz said after sitting through 16 hours of public hearings on the bill, he suspects the provision was crafted intentionally to ensure no real change to the limits on building a new nuclear power plant in Wisconsin. If it was done mistakenly, it should be fixed, he said.

“It’s a new moratorium or an old moratorium,” Seitz claims. “This is why people are cynical about their government.”

You can click at the bottom of the article to hear the whole interview.