Wisconsin Blocking Solar Roll Out to Protect Old Energy Industry that is now threatening Higher Bills.

What industry thinks they can raise their prices while losing customers? The energy industry, that’s who. Ya gotta like that business model.

It drives me crazy when I see industries threaten higher rates if they’re imperiled by the loss of customers due to progress. The insurance industry is just one group I can think of. 

Many countries have deals worked out between energy producers and their government to subsidies green energy, to lower customer costs, save energy and boost economies. Cheaper energy would shift spending to other products, creating demand. It’s so easy. Yet Wisconsin has blocked progress just so they could keep in place the those old fashioned utility companies. If they tell you they didn't see this coming they would be lying, or bad corporate leaders.

Utilities have seen their customers dwindle for years. Huge manufacturing plants have disappeared, customer switched to energy efficient appliances and lighting, and home solar panels are multiplying. 

So for them to whine about big business going solar from their rooftops, saving energy and money, what are we supposed to do, stop it?

jsonline-Thomas Content: Wisconsin is missing out on a wave of solar power development that's going on around the country. One example: Kohl's Department Stores around the country generate three times as much power as all the solar electricity being generated in Wisconsin today.

What's driving the boom in other states is third-party financing, which allows a company such as SunEdison, a builder of solar power plants, to own the panels on the roof of a Kohl's store. That's not allowed in Wisconsin, but would be under a bill being drafted in Madison by Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) and Rep. Gary Tauchen (R-Bonduel).

Whine, whine, whine….

According to Bill Skewes, who heads the Wisconsin Utilities Association, the lobbying arm for the utility industry, the biggest concern is that utilities will see cost shifting because they will sell less power to customers who install solar systems.

That’s supposed to make me cry?

The fixed costs of paying for the poles, wires and day-to-day business operations of the utility would then have to be spread across the remaining customers … "The customers who become partial customers because of a distributed generation agreement would be subsidized by the other customers on the utility system," Supporters concede it could result in reduced power sales by utilities. At the same time, they note that utilities see lower sales every time a business takes steps to cut energy waste or replaces an incandescent light bulb with an LED bulb.

I think Dumb Ron Johnson called it "creative destruction."