PSC Sensible Agency for Wind Rule-Making

From Wind for Wisconsin:

SB 185/AB 256 direct the Public Service Commission (PSC) to initiate an administrative rule-making process to establish statewide siting standards for wind energy projects. The bill draft requires the PSC to establish an advisory committee of diverse interests to advise the Commission on the rules. The legislature will have the opportunity to review the proposed rules prior to their publication.

+ The PSC is an independent regulatory agency dedicated to serving the public interest. The agency is responsible for the regulation of more than 1,100 Wisconsin public utilities, including those that are municipally-owned.
+ The PSC works to ensure that, in the absence of competition, adequate and reasonably priced service is provided to utility customers. The PSC has oversight on every form of electric generation in the state.
+ Alternatives to bypass the PSC are designed to introduce more delay and confusion into the siting process. Additional layers of bureaucracy only serve to reinforce the siting stalemate.
+ Under the bill the PSC would establish a unique, comprehensive review of siting issues. Any attempt to predict the rule-making is speculative at best.
+ The PSC is the agency with the expertise to provide the appropriate scientific, fact based review of issues related to siting wind energy projects. The bill does not specify any siting requirements but establishes a process to review the relevant health and safety issues.

“I pledge to you a rule-making process which will be open and inclusive...The Commission will continue to be a fair partner with local government to ensure that the siting process is equitable to all, and that decisions are made in a timely and transparent way...The PSC’s rulemaking process is as open and inclusive a process as any.”(Joint public hearing May 12, 2009)
-Eric Callisto, PSC Chairman