David Michael Miller
Madison Gas and Electric recently wrapped up a year of public engagement with an invitation-only “community energy workshop” that brought together a wide swath of business, nonprofit and community leaders.
Held April 19 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center under tight security, participants were treated to a lavish spread of hors d’oeuvres before participating in small group discussions on the future direction of MGE and how to better communicate with customers.
“To successfully develop and implement our framework for the future, we at MGE recognize the importance of working with a broad cross-section of our community,” Gary Wolter, the company’s CEO, told the crowd of prominent Madisonians. “This workshop is specially designed with the goal of including the many perspectives, diverse experiences and collective wisdom of our community.”
The message from the power company was clear: MGE is listening.
But many wonder whether the utility will translate that input into policy, most importantly by weaning itself from coal and investing in renewable energy.
Andy Olsen, senior policy advocate of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, is irked at MGE’s tight control over the conversation. He says Madison is home to national experts in a number of cutting-edge fields that aren’t being used.
“There is a continuing pattern of very choreographed and restricted public dialogue that gives a lot of concern that we’re not tapping the best that Madison has to offer,” Olsen says. “We deserve better than this.”
Listen to the interview with Isthmus staff writer Dylan Brogan
MGE’s big public outreach comes after the utility was blasted in 2014 for proposing a major rate increase that critics said rewarded big energy users while sticking it to both average consumers and those who made investments in energy conservation, such as solar panels. The company later asked for a more modest — but still unpopular — fixed rate increase, which the state’s Public Service Commission approved.
Madison Ald. David Ahrens, who was not invited to last week’s workshop, says MGE “found religion” after the outcry.
“I think that [MGE] was pretty astounded to see the depth and breadth of the opposition,” he says. “There is an incredible divide between where this company is and where the community stands.”
After the blowback, MGE hired the Washington, D.C., consulting firm Justice & Sustainability Associates to run a yearlong community-engagement campaign. The effort included last week’s workshop with community leaders and nearly 100 “energy conversations” that were held throughout the past year. These smaller group conversations were also tightly controlled, although people could ask to participate.
“This a vastly different approach. Until last year, [MGE’s] efforts have mostly been hype,” says Ahrens. “Whether they like it or not, this is their community.”
MGE corporate communications manager Dana Brueck says the feedback gleaned from the public was used to craft its Energy 2030 Framework. Published in November 2015, the report is a guide for the utility’s energy plans. It was released more than a month before Justice & Sustainability Associates publicly released its findings on “themes” raised by community members.
“It had a tremendous impact,” Brueck says of the community engagement. “We were getting significant input as a result of the [public listening sessions], and that is reflected in the framework.”
Energy 2030 lays out goals for MGE, including supplying 30% of retail energy sales with renewable resources like wind and solar by 2030. The plan also promises to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% from 2005 levels and deepen “engagement with customers” on how to accomplish long-term goals.
What’s missing from Energy 2030 are details on how the goals will be accomplished or a timeline for implementing them. Olsen is optimistic about the plan but remains concerned about the company’s original 2014 rate proposal. He says it was the “single most aggressive [proposed] increase in fixed mandatory fees in the nation.”
“[MGE] went whole hog in the wrong direction. The question is, have they done a 180, a 90 or is this just marketing?” says Olsen. “The jury is still out on that.”
State Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) says unlike other states, Wisconsin isn’t incentivizing public utilities to move away from fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Taylor calls the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, the three-member panel that regulates public utilities, “a sham.”
“[The Public Service Commission] is a bunch of political hacks,” Taylor says. “They aren’t interested in promoting renewables; in fact, they are quite critical of renewable energy.”
Taylor cites neighboring Iowa, where the entire state is now running on 30% wind power, as evidence that Wisconsin is missing out on the opportunities offered by the green energy sector. She says the state doesn’t offer any incentives to MGE to move away from fossil fuels.
“MGE is making hand-over-fist in profit; why would they change? The consumers are going to have to demand it,” says Taylor.
Ahrens says whether MGE will live up to the vision set by the utility’s own listening sessions will be evident fairly quickly. “We should be able to know in five years what steps [MGE] has taken to fulfill those goals. They can’t wait until 2029 to do it.”
In the meantime, Brueck says MGE encourages people to engage via its website. “It’s an ongoing process to balance all the diverse needs of our customers and our obligations to provide safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy in the years to come.”
