Two utility rate hikes possible for WPL customers

From an article by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Wisconsin Power & Light filed requests with the state Public Service Commission on Friday to raise its electricity rates, sooner and later.

WPL, the local utility subsidiary of Madison-based Alliant Energy, wants to collect another $8.8 million from customers to help cover increased costs for fuel. The utility said fuel costs this year are higher than anticipated. It is seeking a fuel-only hike of just under 1 percent that would add about 53 cents a month onto the bills of the average residential customer, starting immediately.

WPL also is asking for a 3.6 percent increase in electric rates for 2011 to help pay for the construction and operation of WPL's Bent Tree Wind Farm. The 122-turbine installation in Minnesota could produce as much as 200 megawatts of electricity, potentially enough to power 50,000 homes under peak conditions. The Bent Tree project, to be owned and operated by WPL, will cost more than $450 million. The higher base rate would add about $3.11 a month to the average residential customer's bills next year.

If both proposed increases go through, the cost of electricity for an average residential WPL ratepayer would climb to $79.34 a month in 2011.