Alliant Energy’s Kossuth Wind Farm is now operational and generating renewable energy to benefit customers, communities and the environment. This news follows the previous announcement that the company achieved its milestone to add 1,000 megawatts (MW) of wind energy for Iowa customers. The 150-MW Kossuth Wind Farm is located in the north-central part of Iowa, an area with consistently strong wind resources. This project includes 56 turbines and is expected to provide enough energy to power 57,000 homes.

Xcel Energy has reported 2020 second quarter GAAP and ongoing earnings of $287 million, or $0.54 per share, compared with $238 million, or $0.46 per share in the same period in 2019.

“Despite lower sales due to COVID-19, Xcel Energy achieved strong second quarter results primarily due to the positive impact of weather and cost management efforts. We are on track with our financial plan and are reaffirming our 2020 earnings guidance of $2.73 to $2.83 per share. However, we’ll continue to monitor and manage through the economic uncertainty of this pandemic,” said Ben Fowke, chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy.

Xcel Energy has announced its vision to drive toward powering 1.5 million electric vehicles in its service areas by 2030. As a result of this vision, EVs would make up twenty percent of all vehicles on the road in those areas, more than 30 times the number today, helping save customers billions of dollars in fuel costs, while significantly cutting carbon emissions from transportation.

By making it easy for more people to use EVs through new charging infrastructure and customer programs, the company’s vision will build the future of clean, affordable transportation in the eight states it serves. As drivers, ride-share companies, public transit and other fleet operators replace vehicles with EVs, they will see substantial savings on fuel, because driving electric is equal to spending about $1 per gallon of gas and can be significantly less when charging overnight. By 2030, an EV would cost $700 less per year to fuel than a gas-powered car, saving customers $1 billion annually. To make the company’s vision a reality, it will need the support of policymakers, manufacturers and other stakeholders.

Customers who fall behind on their utility bills will soon face late fees and the prospect of having their power shut off after three months of government protection during the coronavirus pandemic. The Public Service Commission has voted unanimously to lift a moratorium on disconnections and other penalties that was put in place following executive orders issued by Gov. Tony Evers in March. Utilities will be allowed to send disconnection notices beginning July 15 to customers who are behind on their bills and have not worked out payment plans. Those customers could see power turned off as soon as July 25.

The newly built West Riverside Energy Center near Beloit, Wisconsin, has officially put into service its 730-megawatt, combined-cycle, natural gas system, generating energy for customers of Alliant Energy. “We are proud to put our West Riverside Energy Center into service to provide reliable and affordable energy to our customers and communities,” according to David de Leon, President of Alliant Energy’s Wisconsin energy company. “Community support, strong partnerships, and hard work by countless employees, contractors, and suppliers made this a successful project. We appreciate the collaboration we have with the neighbors, the town and city of Beloit, Rock County, the state of Wisconsin, and the many other organizations, businesses, and individuals who continue to support this facility.”

Heavy rains have caused a major headache for We Energies. The company issued the following statement: “Heavy rain has caused flooding in parts of our steam system in Downtown Milwaukee – creating large steam plumes in parts of downtown. We are investigating a steam system outage that is impacting some customers.” We Energies officials say they don’t know what exactly caused the system of underground steam tunnels in downtown Milwaukee to be flooded with an unprecedented “tidal wave” of water during a major rainstorm. Not only did the steam outage leave hundreds of businesses without heat and hot water for several days, it did major damage to We Energies’ historic headquarters at North 2nd and West Michigan streets. “The estimate to repair is more than $10 million and may take as long as two months before we can reopen the building,” We Energies spokesman Brendan Conway said.

In-person meter reading, which had been temporarily on hold for Xcel Energy’s Wisconsin and Michigan’s residential customers since mid-April due to COVID-19 concerns, has resumed. While many electric and gas meters are read automatically, some require an in-person reading. If customers have one of these meters, they should allow in-person meter readers and field crews to do their critical work.

Emissions this year are expected to be significantly lower than they were 15 years ago, thanks to recent coal plant retirements. The findings are part of a draft Strategic Energy Assessment, a short-term forecast the Public Service Commission is required by law to complete every two years to look at the adequacy and reliability of the state’s electric grid. According to the draft, Wisconsin electric providers as a whole are on track to achieve a forty percent reduction of 2005 carbon emissions by 2026 — ahead of the 2030 target some have laid out.

With an eye toward delivering cleaner, more cost-effective energy, Alliant Energy has announced plans to retire the Edgewater Generating Station in Sheboygan by the end of 2022. Closing the coal generation facility and transitioning to renewable energy will help Alliant Energy customers avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term costs.

Xcel Energy transmission patrol crew has been flying helicopters alongside lines in Wisconsin to perform inspections to ensure the electric system remains reliable through the summer cooling months. The inspections also meet federal regulatory compliance requirements to secure a reliable electric system.
The crews will identify potential trouble spots along these lines or structural issues that need to be addressed and repaired. They will also look for encroachment issues, such as buildings on or near right of ways, or trees growing too close to transmission lines. Inspections on all Xcel Energy transmission lines in Wisconsin will take about 4-6 weeks. Helicopters will fly within fifty feet of transmission lines at varying speeds. At times the helicopter will hover near infrastructure to perform more detailed inspections. The exact flight schedule is dependent on weather and flying conditions.

Due to COVID 19 and stay at home orders, the Public Utility companies will be hosting their stockholder Annual meetings virtually. Below is the list of companies, their meeting date, and how to attend. 

WEC Energy Group
WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) will hold a virtual-only 2020 Annual Meeting on Wednesday, May 6, at 1:30 p.m. Central/2:30 p.m. Eastern time.  Sign Up

MGE Energy 2020 Annual Meeting Update 
This is an important update regarding our Annual Meeting on May 19, 2020, at 11 a.m. CST.
Since the printing of your proxy materials, we have modified the format of our Annual Meeting from an in-person meeting to a virtual meeting. Sign Up Online