Factories miffed at high Wisconsin power prices

Large manufacturers say something needs to be done about electricity prices in Wisconsin that are so out-of-whack they`re threatening the state`s economic development efforts.

"Our members, Wisconsin’s largest manufacturing companies, now pay an average of 13% more for electricity than the average rates paid by their competitors in all other Midwest states,” said Todd Stuart, executive director of the Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group. “That’s a big cost disadvantage for our members, some of whom pay well over $1 million a month for electricity.”

The griping by Stuart`s group and the Wisconsin Paper Council is supported by data released by the state Public Service Commission this year showing that Wisconsin`s electricity rates are indeed highest in the Midwest and higher than the national average. Plus, new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that through the first six months of the year, power prices nationally are falling, but Wisconsin`s prices have crept higher....