Highlights

• GAAP earnings per share were $2.73 in 2022 compared to $2.63 in 2021

MGE Energy has reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 and for the full year of 2022.

MGE Energy's earnings for the full year of 2022 were $111.0 million, or $3.07 per share, compared to $105.8 million, or $2.92 per share, for the same period in the prior year.

The abrupt shut down of privately owned Sun Badger Solar  has left customers in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota wondering if their solar installations will be finished or if they will lose deposits for work that was never started.

Customers have lodged dozens of complaints with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and Wisconsin Better Business Bureau, and law enforcement agencies in multiple communities are investigating customers' complaints of fraud. Furloughed employees of the Waukesha company wonder, without much hope, if they'll be called back or paid for work they did before the company as its finances unraveled.

Madison Gas and Electric has been approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to purchase more solar energy and battery storage.

MGE can now purchase solar energy and battery storage from the Darien Solar Energy Center and will own 25 megawatts (MW) of solar energy and 7.5 MW of battery storage from a solar battery storage facility in Rock and Walworth counties in southern Wisconsin.

The Board of Directors of Xcel Energy has declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of 48.75 cents per share. The dividends are payable January 20, 2023, to shareholders of record on December 29, 2022.

The Public Service Commission has voted 2-1 to approve a petition on third-party financing of small-scale solar power systems. PSC’s order will allow North Wind Renewable Energy Cooperative to build solar panels on a family’s home and lease them to the family. Renewable developers and environmental advocates supported the decision, while utilities argued that solar financers are effectively building power infrastructure and selling energy to the public through leases and power purchase agreements. PSC has yet to issue a full written order, and the legal implications of its decision are still unclear.

WUI and utilities had opposed the action and questioned whether the Commission had the authority to make the decision without legislative action.

Wisconsin utility regulators have approved rate hikes for electric and natural gas customers served by two of the state’s largest utilities, but they reduced returns utilities can collect. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission has approved overall electric rate hikes of 8.8 percent for We Energies and nine percent for Wisconsin Public Service, according to commission staff. The increase is higher than utilities had initially proposed, but less than changes they suggested later that would have shifted more costs to residential customers.

This fall, the utilities owned by Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group asked for electric rate hikes of thirteen percent for We Energies residential customers and a nearly fifteen percent increase for Wisconsin Public Service.

Animals at the Henry Vilas Zoo recently received a donation of roughly ten logs and stumps for enrichment purposes, courtesy of American Transmission Company., Asplundh Tree Expert LLC, and some village of Oregon property owners.

“We are so grateful to ATC, and their contractor Asplundh, for bringing their specialized equipment and staff to the Zoo to place these huge logs and stumps in some of our animal exhibits,” said Beth Petersen, general curator of animals at the Henry Vilas Zoo. “As a free zoo, it is vital for us to have strong community partnerships like these that have an immediate benefit to animal welfare.”

Madison Gas and Electric has published its annual Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report, detailing its environmental, social and commitments and progress toward the company’s sustainability goals. The report is a comprehensive overview of the company's activities and performance in fulfilling its role as a critical services provider, environmental steward, and community resource and partner.

"MGE was one of the first utilities nationwide to set a goal of net-zero carbon electricity by 2050, and we continue to work toward our goal of reducing carbon at eighty percent by the end of this decade,” according to Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Keebler.

WEC Energy and EPRI have announced the successful demonstration of blending hydrogen in a natural gas generator. The project is the first hydrogen power test of a utility-scale, grid-connected reciprocating engine generator in the world.

During two weeks of testing in mid-October, hydrogen and natural gas were tested in blends up to 25/75 percent by volume to power one of the reciprocating engine generating units that serves customers of Upper Michigan Energy Resources, a WEC Energy Group subsidiary. The testing was performed on an 18-megawatt unit that uses a technology known as RICE — reciprocating internal combustion engines. The RICE unit was continually monitored during the test to measure performance, output and emissions data.

Mark Stoering, President, Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan, is retiring at the end of the year after more than 33 years of service to the company. He played key roles in laying the foundation for the company’s clean energy strategy, including leading the development of community solar in Wisconsin and the first company-owned wind farms.

 “Mark has had a tremendous impact on our company and, more importantly, the hundreds of communities we serve in Wisconsin and Michigan,” said Bob Frenzel, Chairman, President and CEO of Xcel Energy, Inc. “He has always been a great innovator and leader and has built a strong team that will carry on his legacy.”

Xcel Energy is pleased to announce that Karl Hoesly will succeed Mark Stoering as the next President for Xcel Energy-Wisconsin and Michigan beginning December 1, 2022.

Hoesly has worked for Xcel Energy for 15 years and currently serves as the Regional Vice President for Rates and Regulatory Affairs, a position he has held since 2018. In this role, he provides overall direction and leadership of Xcel Energy’s regulatory affairs function in Wisconsin and Michigan. He is also part of the senior management team that develops the company’s strategy and policies in the regulatory, legislative and customer service areas. Hoesly was previously Manager of Regulatory Affairs. 

Xcel Energy has reported 2022 third quarter GAAP and ongoing earnings of $649 million, or $1.18 per share, compared with $609 million, or $1.13 per share in the same period in 2021.  Earnings reflect capital investment recovery and other regulatory outcomes, partially offset by higher depreciation, interest expense and operating and maintenance (O&M) expenses.

“Xcel Energy had a strong third quarter – both operationally and financially – which has allowed us to narrow our 2022 earnings guidance to $3.14 to $3.19 per share,” said Bob Frenzel, Chairman, President and CEO of Xcel Energy.

Alliant Energy has announced U.S. (GAAP) and non-GAAP consolidated unaudited earnings per share (EPS) for the three months ended September 30.

Utilities and Corporate Services - Alliant Energy’s Utilities and Alliant Energy Corporate Services, Inc. (Corporate Services) operations generated $0.99 per share of GAAP EPS in the third quarter of 2022, which was $0.02 per share lower than the third quarter of 2021. The primary drivers of lower EPS were higher interest expense and timing of income tax expense.

WEC Energy Group has reported net income of $302.0 million, or 96 cents per share, for the third quarter of 2022 — up from $290.0 million, or 92 cents per share, in last year's third quarter.

For the first nine months of 2022, the company recorded net income of $1.16 billion, or $3.65 per share, up from $1.08 billion, or $3.40 per share, in the corresponding period a year ago.

Consolidated revenues totaled $7.0 billion for the first nine months of 2022, up $924.9 million over revenues for the first nine months of 2021.

WEC Energy Group will become the majority owner of a large Illinois solar farm that will provide energy for a single Fortune 100 company.

The 250-megawatt Maple Flats Energy Center is being built in south central Illinois by Invenergy, a renewable-energy developer based in Chicago. The 1,500-acre solar array will produce enough electricity to power 75,000 homes, but that energy will be sold under a long-term contract to a single customer that the company did not identify.

Xcel Energy has announced a proposal to advance the retirement of coal operations at Tolk Generating Station in Texas to 2028, more than four years earlier than planned. With this earlier retirement, along with accelerated coal plant retirements in other states, the company will exit the use of coal by the end of 2030 when the Comanche 3 coal unit in Colorado retires.

The company is leading the nation’s clean energy transition as it reduces carbon emissions 80% by 2030 for electric customers, with a vision to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. Retiring coal generation while continuing to add reliable and affordable clean energy sources are key to Xcel Energy’s strategy in the eight states it serves.

Xcel Energy sent support to Florida for restoration efforts as Hurricane Ian made landfall. Xcel Energy provided
approximately 270 contract workers. The line workers were from Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota,
North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas.

“When the call for help came in, Xcel Energy and the entire electric industry answered that call,” says Bob Frenzel,
Chairman, President and CEO of Xcel Energy. “When our customers experience adverse conditions, we know that
they would do the same for us. It’s imperative that the electric companies work together to ensure the resiliency of
our essential product as storm volatility increases.”

Wisconsin’s Northwoods region offers endless ways to enjoy the outdoors, from muskellunge fishing in Boulder Junction to cross-country skiing along the Ice Age Trail in Tomahawk. Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) offers a unique way to experience the area’s natural beauty through a self-guided tour of its Otter Rapids hydroelectric
power plant west of Eagle River off Highway 70.  Otter Rapids Hydro is nestled along the banks of the Wisconsin River, west of Eagle River. The hydroelectric power plant uses the flow of the river to produce affordable, reliable and clean energy for WPS customers and has been generating clean energy for more than 100 years. It also helps control water levels for the Eagle River lakes system, which is part of the world’s largest chain of freshwater lakes.