Walnut Way

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

Lindsay Heights family and others who are interested in city planning around making accessible roads for commuters come to this tonight!

Tonight !

Come talk to 414 in Motion to gain insight on the city transforming our roads to allow accessible commuting for all pedestrians and cyclists !

09/02/2026

PRELIMINARY SESSION 1 RECAP — FULL REPORT COMING SOON

Milwaukee showed up.

FOX6 Milwaukee covered last night's public hearing on the We Energies rate case, Docket 5-UR-112. These are preliminary numbers from Session 1 (the 1 p.m. hearing) only. The 6 p.m. Session 2 recording has not been posted yet by the PSC. As soon as it drops, we will publish a combined full report covering both sessions and the written record.

SESSION 1 — PRELIMINARY NUMBERS

33 people testified under oath

29 opposed the increase (88%)

2 supported (6%)

2 mixed (6%)

WHAT WE ENERGIES IS ASKING FOR

Residential electric: 9.35% in 2027, then 5.52% in 2028

About $22 more per month by 2028, roughly $260 more per year

Sixth consecutive residential rate increase since 2020

TOP 5 THEMES FROM THE ROOM

Executive pay and shareholder returns out of proportion (14 speakers)

Data centers should not be subsidized by residential customers (12)

Delayed Oak Creek retirement is costing customers (11)

Renewable transition moving too slowly (11)

Affordability, bills vs. food and medicine (10)

Thank you to every person who came, spoke up, held a sign, drove someone to the hearing, or watched the livestream and shared it. Every voice went on the record. Every voice matters.

If you did not get a chance to speak, you still have one. Written public comment is open through Friday, September 18. A written comment carries the same evidentiary weight as sworn testimony.

File your written comment: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERF/comment/filecomment.aspx?util=5&case=UR&num=112

Watch Session 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywjFlvBXWWw

Read the FOX6 story: https://www.fox6now.com/news/we-energies-rate-increase-proposal-protest

Join the Wisconsin Eco Justice Base Builders. We are building neighborhood power for the long haul, not just this rate case: https://info4773772.wixforms.com/f/7498467026772427819

Session 2 recap and the full combined report are coming as soon as the PSC posts the 6 p.m. recording. Follow this page so you do not miss it.

08/31/2026

Tomorrow is the first day of school in Milwaukee.

It is also the day the state holds its public hearing on the We Energies rate increase. The hearing is where regular people get to speak. That is the whole point of it.

We Energies will send lawyers. They get paid to sit in that room all day. If you take off work to speak, you lose pay. That is the difference, and it is why the room usually sounds like them and not us.

Everything We Energies does, you pay for it. When they advertise, you pay for it. When they donate, you pay for it. When they use lawyers, you pay for it.

Here is what they are asking for. Your electric bill goes up about 13 dollars a month next year, then about 9 dollars more the year after. That is about 22 dollars a month by 2028. About 260 dollars a year, on top of what you already pay. It would be the sixth increase since 2020.

Nothing is decided yet. Three people on the Wisconsin Public Service Commission make this decision for the whole state. By law they have to read every comment the public sends in.

Ask them for two things.

One. No increase.

Two. Cap what a household pays for energy at a small share of its income, so a bill can never grow faster than a paycheck.

You have two ways to be heard.

Speak at the hearing tomorrow. You get about two minutes. You do not need notes, a title, or any experience. You say your name and what your bill is doing to your household. That is enough.

Or write it in. If you cannot come tomorrow, comments stay open until Friday, September 18, and a written comment counts the same as spoken testimony.

File a comment here: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERF/comment/filecomment.aspx?util=5&case=UR&num=112

Tell us you are coming: https://www.walnutway.org/events-1/rally-at-we-energies

Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 1

Free buses to the rally load at 10:30 a.m. at 1617 W North Avenue and leave before 11.

Rally at 11:30 a.m. outside We Energies, 231 W Michigan Street.

Hearings at 1 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. at the Marquette Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W Wisconsin Avenue. Come to whichever one fits your day. The 6 p.m. session exists for people who work.

Need a ride, need childcare, or want help writing your comment? Call 414-260-2243 and a person will pick up.

The video is from a different town's story. We added the notes because Wisconsin is next in line.

08/31/2026

See the video that features our consultant,

Abra Fortson sat down with TMJ4 for what she had to say about the We Energies rate hikes.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin will hold a public hearing Tuesday to consider a We Energies rate increase proposal that could raise monthly energy bills by about $22 by 2028.

Story at the link in the comments.

08/30/2026

Three people in Madison decide how much your electric bill goes up. That is it. Three.

We Energies wants to build new power plants. Big data centers are coming and they need a lot of power. The company wants those companies to pay part of the cost and you to pay part of it too.

Nothing is decided yet. That is why this matters right now.

There is more than one way to do this. You can ask the three people for something better:

Fix our homes so they cost less to heat and cool.
Put solar and batteries here, on our own roofs.
Make the data centers pay for the power they use.
Do not shut off families who are already behind.

Those three people only read what people send them. If you do not write, they do not hear you.

Write two or three sentences. It takes two minutes. Say what your bill was, what it is now, and what you want them to do. That is a real comment. It goes in the official record, the same record our lawyers file in.

Write it here before Friday, September 18: https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERF/comment/filecomment.aspx?util=5&case=UR&num=112

Come Tuesday, September 1:
Rally 11:30 a.m. at We Energies, 231 W Michigan Street.
Buses leave from 1617 W North Avenue. Be there by 10:30 a.m.
Public hearing 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., Marquette Alumni Memorial Union.

Want help writing yours? Call 414-260-2243. We will help you.

08/30/2026

Nice words. Comment anyway.

Their spokesman explains it. Then the video shows what your bill is paying to build.

Comment on the record — docket 5-UR-112, link in bio. Two minutes.
Tuesday 9/1: rally 11:30 at We Energies. Hearing 1pm and 6pm, Marquette AMU.

08/28/2026

At the Walnut Way Innovation Wellness Commons, our consultant Abra Fortson sat down with TMJ4 about how the We Energies rate increase impacts working class and marginalized families who cannot afford this into their strained budgets.

To fight against this please copy this link below and submit a public comment to tell WE Energies, we do not approve of this rate hike.

https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERF/comment/filecomment.aspx?util=5&case=UR&num=112

08/28/2026

One out of every ten homes in Milwaukee got their power shut off.

That is not a guess. That is We Energies' own record for 2024. We made them hand it over.

In ZIP 53206 it was 23%. Almost one in four. In 53205, our own ZIP, 15%.

Now they want to charge us 16% more.

MILWAUKEE — SEPTEMBER 1
10.3% of Milwaukee homes were shut off in 2024, 23% in ZIP 53206, 63,000 homes in one year

Comment now - https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERF/comment/filecomment.aspx?util=5&case=UR&num=112

We Energies wants 16% more. That is $480 million over two years, and a lot of it pays for power data centers asked for.

The state has to hear from the public before it decides. September 1 is that day.

📍 Marquette University, Alumni Memorial Union
🕐 1:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m.

Swipe for the numbers — their own records show 10.3% of Milwaukee homes were shut off in 2024, 23% in ZIP 53206, 63,000 homes in one year, and now a $480 million ask on top of it.

No notes needed. Just say your bill, your notice, what it cost you.

Can't make it? Comment today — five minutes, your own words. Link in bio.

Their plans keep getting bigger. September 1 we fill the room.