Wisconsin residents are raising questions about who will foot the bill for the massive energy requirements of new data centers being built across the state, as We Energies proposes a new rate structure to address the facilities' enormous power needs.At a public hearing watch party hosted by Walnut Way Conservation, community members expressed concerns about whether We Energies' proposed plan adequately protects consumers from shouldering the costs of data center energy infrastructure."What that actually means what they are taking care of," said Jeff Thomas of Milwaukee, voicing the questions many residents have about data centers' energy demands.The Public Service Commission is currently reviewing We Energies' proposed rate structure, specifically designed for data centers. Environmental justice groups are pushing for more transparency around potential cost shifting to residential customers."We're being asked to commit our state resources to industrial-scale developments before we've had the chance to ask basic questions: Who benefits and who bears the cost," said Laura Lane of Faith in Place. She's calling on the PSC to reject the rate request.The energy requirements for these facilities are staggering. A single 500-megawatt data center consumes the same amount of electricity as 400,000 homes. Microsoft has stated it will pay its fair share of additional energy capacity costs,However, community advocates want stronger written guarantees, lower thresholds to cover smaller data centers, better enforcement guidelines with more "robust" community benefits"Data center developers, these multi-billion dollar firms, should be paying 100% of the capacity question," said Bryan Rogers of Walnut Way Conservation Corp.When asked if he believes companies' promises to pay their share, Rogers responded: "Just in by people's words alone is a really good way to get played."Under We Energies' proposed rate structure, companies building large-scale data centers in Mount Pleasant and Port Washington would pay 100 percent of specific additional energy capacity costs.Watch: Data centers spark energy cost concerns among Wisconsin residents Concerns over data center usage continueBrendan Conway, spokesperson for WEC Energy Group, defended the proposal as necessary to prevent cost shifting to residential customers."So for the energy plants, the energy that they'll be using to meet their needs, that's all 100%."Conway says the second part of the rate structure proposal is for We Energies' future energy needs, data centers would cover 75% of costs, with customers picking up the remaining 25%."We need to increase it to serve all of our customers, and obviously, they're driving that. They're going to pay 75% to build that plant, but not receive any of the energy attributes. All of our other customers will receive all of the energy attributes and all the benefits ."But TMJ4 asked how We Energies will guarantee costs don't shift to meet data centers' additional energy needs."That's why we have this rate proposed, right? If we didn't have this rate proposed, if we just went with our typical standard large customer rate, it'd be about $1.5 billion cost shift just in the next five years," Conway said. "So we made this to make sure there is no cost shift."Racine County residents urge PSC to protect consumers from data center costsRacine County residents are among the hundreds voicing concerns to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin about the potential impact of data center operations on their energy bills.Mark Giese, a Mount Pleasant resident who filed a written comment ahead of Tuesday's public hearing, expressed worry about rising energy costs affecting both himself and his neighbors. "I don't like the idea of my own rate going up," Giese said. "A higher rate really has to be unwelcome news to them," referring to low-income residents who could be disproportionately affected. Microsoft has a growing data center footprint in Mount Pleasant, making these data center concerns and questions top of mind for many in Racine County.Some concerns center around energy usage, water consumption, and the possibility of higher electricity prices for consumers, as We Energies is proposing a special rate for high energy use customers, such as companies behind data centers in the state.Among the hundreds of written comments submitted to the PSC was one from Raina Braun of Burlington, who stated, "Any option in which data centers are not required to pay 100% of all costs for all fuel and infrastructure for the life of the assets is unacceptable."We Energies maintains that data center companies will cover the increased cost of energy usage, which is estimated to double in the next five years.Jayne Steffens, who also submitted a written comment, told TMJ4 on the phone, "Those two powerful thingsthe data centers and We Energiesare so big and powerful we're just minions that are just supplying money by paying our raised rate."In her public comment, she noted that ratepayers don't have another option apart from using energy from We Energies.Mount Pleasant resident Dan Newman called on the PSC to "require a version with clear guardrails that protect residents first."Microsoft has made public commitments to "pay utility rates that are high enough to cover our electricity costs" and to "advocate for public policies needed for affordable, reliable, and sustainable power."The PSC will continue accepting written comments until February 17. It could take the PSC several months to make a final decision.This story was reported on-air by Charles Benson and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less