Large energy customers would pay fees to support energy programs

The Wisconsin Department of Administration would collect annual fees based on large energy customers’ forecast peak electricity demand. Covered customers must have a facility with monthly energy demand of at least 1,000 kilowatts of electricity or 10,000 decatherms of gas, and monthly energy bills totaling at least $60,000 within the utility’s service area. The fee would be $2 million for demand of at least 100 but less than 250 megawatts, and $3 million for at least 250 but less than 500 megawatts. Each further 250-megawatt band beginning at 500 megawatts would add $1 million. No fee amount is stated for demand below 100 megawatts. Half of the money would go to the utility public benefits fund. Half would support the Green Innovation Fund through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Fees would be collected annually on a state-set schedule, using the customer’s forecast highest electricity demand during the next 12 months.

The Public Service Commission would define very large electricity customers and review their rates. Electric utilities would offer an optional renewable energy plan. Rate reviews would cover utilities offering special rates or contracts to very large customers. The renewable plan would serve commercial and industrial customers. Businesses choosing the renewable plan could cover some or all of their energy use from new renewable sources, while maintaining reliable service. Participants would pay their full share of costs and receive an energy credit. Utilities could not shift costs between participants and other customers. The commission would adjust very large customers’ rates or service terms if it found them unreasonable, preferential, or unfairly discriminatory. An existing renewable plan could qualify if it met the requirements. Utilities offering very large customer rates would seek review by April 1 every other year. Energy utilities would report data center energy use and sources quarterly; the commission would publish combined data.

Employers would pay laborers and mechanics a required minimum wage when they build or refurbish covered large data centers. Covered data centers would total at least 25,000 square feet and have at least $250 million in construction or refurbishment, technology equipment, and software costs during a covered 60-month period. Workers would receive the prevailing wage, a wage benchmark defined under the federal Inflation Reduction Act. Workers covered by a union contract would receive that rate or their contract rate, whichever was higher. The prevailing wage could not be below a reasonable living wage. State certification for sales and use tax exemptions would require work on the center to meet the wage rules and at least 70 percent of its annual electricity to come from renewable sources. The size-and-cost definition counts costs incurred within any 60-month period beginning on July 1, 2026.

Data center owners or operators would report their green building certification to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. The requirement would cover buildings owned, leased, or operated by the same business or an affiliated business to house connected computer servers for processing, storing, or sharing data. The data center would have to earn certification under one of the specified sustainable design or green building standards. Owners or operators would submit certification no later than three years after the data center begins operating.

Water utilities would notify the Public Service Commission about certain customers’ planned water use. Local governments would require data centers to record and report actual water use. Utility notification would cover water customers generally. Actual-use reporting would cover data centers within the local government’s boundaries. Notification would cover a new customer’s planned use, or an existing customer’s planned increase, that would account for 25 percent of the utility’s total customer water use. Cities, villages, towns, and counties would publish data center reports on their websites, if available, or through a public notice. Data centers would report actual water use no later than one year after becoming operational and annually afterward.