Groups Ask Wisconsin Public Service Commission to Investigate Fraudulent Petition in Electric Rate Cases

MADISON, Wis., Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has received a formal request to open an investigation into a petition filed by the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) in an ongoing We Energies rate case. According to widely circulated media reports, some of the 2,500 Wisconsin signers purported to support the rate increases in the filing were unaware their names and addresses were being used in the case. Some told reporters that they in fact oppose the rate increases.  The same petition was also filed in a Madison Gas & Electric rate case.

The rate cases involve a proposal to shift significant amounts of revenue into fixed charges, which means many customers will pay higher bills regardless of how much they electricity they use.  The change would diminish savings from energy efficiency and solar energy. We Energies proposal additionally imposes high fees on solar customers and bans third party financing methods for solar projects.

The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), RENEW Wisconsin and The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) filed the request with the Commission. The petition asks the Commission to formally investigate whether the customers who signed the petition actually signed, if CEA adequately explained what the customers signed and whether any criminal actions took place.

"The Commission has the statutory authority to open an investigation into public comments filed in its cases, and it appears there are serious questions about the validity of the signatures submitted by the Consumer Energy Alliance," said Robert Kelter, senior attorney with ELPC. "Furthermore, it appears that a senior CEA representative testified under oath to the veracity of the signatures at a public hearing in Milwaukee. This raises serious questions about a process that relies on honest, sworn testimony and the examination of the facts in a case."

On October 21^st, a story by Mike Ivey in the Capital Times identified three individuals whose names and addresses were included in the filing, and who told Ivey that they did not agree to have their names used in the case. Then, on October 24^th, a story by Lisa Kaiser in the Shepherd Express, revealed that Michael Sinicki, the husband of State Rep. Christine Sinicki, and an opponent of the utility plan, also appeared on the CEA petition.

State Rep. Chris Taylor of Madison said she supports launching an investigation because she fears people she represents may have been fraudulently added to the petition.

"If my constituents were duped, Consumer Energy Alliance should be appropriately punished by the Commission," Rep. Taylor said. "It needs to be clear that these tactics are not welcome in Wisconsin." 

"It is implausible to believe that Houston political operatives concocted this fraudulent scheme on their own," said Bryan Miller, Co-Chairman of TASC. "We Energies and Madison Gas & Electric must come clean on all communications they have had with Consumer Energy Alliance, documentation of which surely exists.  As state sponsored monopolies, the utilities owe the public more."

Tyler Huebner, executive director of RENEW, said that knowing the truth is critical to the integrity of the process.

"All throughout these cases we have sought the facts. When the utilities said they needed to increase fixed fees, we asked for the data to demonstrate that need. Now, another group says that they have 2,500 people in each case who support the rate hike, and we have serious questions whether those individuals really want their bills to go up, and know that their names are being used."

If impropriety is uncovered in an investigation, Kelter said, it will be up to the Commission and the authorities to determine the next steps.

"Right now, we have a couple of news stories that raise some serious questions," he said. "We feel that the Commission should take a closer look so that the full story of whatever occurred can be brought to the light of day."

SOURCE RENEW Wisconsin; Environmental Law & Policy Center