MILWAUKEE COUNTY — After near-record high temperatures at the start of October, people across Milwaukee County are finally gearing up for fall.
With temperatures sitting around 50 degrees, many said it’s time to turn on the heat. Some residents though are worried about the bill.
“We’re going to tough it out as long as we can because those bills are going to be expensive,” Caitlin Ali, who lives in Bay View, said.
We Energies has good news.
They said the typical customer heating bill this winter season will be anywhere from five to ten dollars less per month. That decrease is driven by the price of natural gas, which has fallen since last year.
“Things have leveled out. The prices are much lower and now customers will have some relief,” Brendan Conway, a spokesperson for We Energies, said.
Conway added that now is the best time to make sure your furnace is running efficiently and to secure any windows. Those are things he said will also lower the heating bill. However, the utility is also proposing an increase to residential electricity costs in 2024. This would be the second rate filing in the past eight years, according to Conway.
The utility is requesting a 2.5% increase for electric rates, a 2.9% increase for Wisconsin Gas LLC natural gas rates, and a 4.5% increase for Wisconsin Electric Gas Operations natural gas rates. If approved, the standard residential electric customer would pay less than four more dollars a month starting in January, Conway said.
“It’s for clean energy. We’re bringing a lot of renewable energy online but those costs need to be covered,” Conway explained. “Some of those costs are being incurred right now, but we estimate over 20 years, customers will save over two billion dollars.”
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) is reviewing the proposal and will make a decision before the end of 2023.
We Energies’ 2024 rate proposals will be open for discussion at two Wisconsin Public Service Commission public hearings.
Those are at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday at the Clinton-Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. King Drive. The hearings will also be livestreamed on Zoom.
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