Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Microsoft raises consumer concerns over data center power line plan
Francesca Pica
An unlikely ally joined consumer advocates in raising concerns about a plan to shield Wisconsin energy customers from transmission costs related to Mount Pleasant's data center campus.
Microsoft disputed American Transmission Co. and We Energies’ proposal to bill the tech company over $600 million for new power lines and substations serving its Mount Pleasant data center campus – saying it doesn’t go far enough to protect existing customers' electric bills.
ATC is planning more than $2 billion in new high-voltage power lines, substations and facility upgrades to deliver power to large data centers. ATC charges these costs to utilities like We Energies, which then pass them along to their customers through energy bills.
Under ATC’s proposal submitted to federal regulators in July, We Energies would pay the total cost of transmission capacity a data center requests “even in the event the end-use data center customer fails to materialize or take 100% of the requested service.” Microsoft must then pay the utility back in full.
But in an Aug. 21 public filing, the tech giant said it was not consulted about the agreement despite being its sole customer.
“As a result, the Agreements predictably contain significant deficiencies — errors, contradictions and inconsistencies — and raise several significant cost-of-service and open access issues that support a Commission finding that the Agreements may not be just and reasonable,” the company wrote.
Furthermore, Microsoft said the agreement “provides no mechanism to prevent [We Energies’] retail customers from paying the costs of the facilities, and large load customers may pay twice.” It emphasized its commitment to President Donald Trump's ratepayer protection pledge, which holds that U.S. households should not be subject to utility price hikes caused by data center development.
Consumer protection group CUB supports Microsoft's position
The Citizens Utility Board echoed Microsoft’s concern in filings submitted the same day. The consumer advocate told federal regulators the agreement lacks clarity about how transmission costs are tracked and assigned to customers.
“The giant customer and the small customer are aligned in raising questions about how these costs are allocated,” said Tom Content, CUB’s executive director. “We can’t tell from this filing if the numbers they used to allocate costs to Microsoft are accurate.”
Content warned that without adequate protections, five million ATC customers in eastern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula could be stuck paying for data centers’ power lines.
ATC told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a statement it's "reviewing Microsoft’s filing and will respond through the established FERC process to demonstrate that existing customers are fully protected by the agreements."
"We remain committed to cost transparency and protection of existing customers while ensuring reliable transmission service," the company said.
Microsoft requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission meet with parties to resolve the “deficiencies,” or otherwise reject ATC’s plan so it must renegotiate.
Power line company's plan 'premature,' consumer advocate says
ATC says Mount Pleasant’s agreement is the first of many that will directly assign data center-related transmission costs to the tech companies that own them. Additional projects in the utility's service area include Vantage Data Centers’ $15 billion campus in Port Washington and a data center in Beaver Dam owned by Meta.
But Content said individual contracts with tech companies are the wrong approach.
“They’re proposing one thing for Microsoft, and there’ll be another agreement in Port Washington and another for Beaver Dam,” he said. “You should have a consistent framework” that applies the same standards to all projects, similar to the rate structure approved for We Energies in April.
ATC told the Journal Sentinel in July that individual project agreements are in line with its past filings as well as data center plans from transmission owners in other states. The rules for wholesale utility companies like ATC are different, the company added.
“Our agreements are going to be very similar among all of our customers,” said Ellen Nowak, ATC vice president of regulatory and government affairs. “It's just going to be different inputs, and we have to treat all of our customers similarly and equally.”
Content also called ATC’s filing “premature,” since FERC expected to set more robust frameworks for transmission cost allocation later this year.
In June, the agency ordered regional grid operators to show how data center-related costs are tracked and shielded from ratepayers. Wisconsin’s grid operator has until Nov. 16 to respond – and potentially scramble ATC's plan.
The Public Service Commission, Wisconsin's utility regulator, also said in public comments that while an improvement over the status quo, ATC's plan fails to fully address FERC's concerns.
“Additional work is needed to achieve just and reasonable transmission rates,” the utility regulator said.
ATC said the agreement offers “the protections that the Commission is seeking in a fair, just, and reasonable manner.”
Francesca Pica can be reached at fpica@usatodayco.com.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Monday, August 24, 2026
Sunday, August 23, 2026
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Cops Gone Wild: Former RCSO deputy pleads guilty to attempting misconduct in public office, battery
Milana Doné
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Jonathan Bechman, left, talks with his attorney, Daniel Adams, during a plea/sentencing hearing Friday. RACINE — A former Racine County Sheriff's Office deputy has been found guilty in connection to allegations of domestic abuse and using law enforcement resources to track his wife. Jonathan Bechman, 48, was charged in May with one count of attempting misconduct in public office (act in excess of lawful authority) and two counts of misdemeanor battery with a domestic abuse modifier. Bechman pleaded guilty Friday to all three charges and was sentenced to six months in jail with work release and three years of probation. He also was sentenced to 27 months in jail imposed and stayed, meaning Bechman will not serve that time unless he violates the terms of his probation. According to a criminal complaint, Bechman's wife told Mount Pleasant investigators about two specific incidents of domestic violence and alleged there had been ongoing violence throughout their marriage. A forensic download of Bechman's phone reportedly revealed statements in the Notes app admitting violence toward his wife. After reporting to the police, Bechman's wife moved out of state. An RCSO employee reported that there were documents on Bechman's desk that indicated he had been using police resources to locate her. The documents were not in connection to a criminal investigation or official duties and were against policy, the complaint said. Bechman's wife told the court Friday that it was difficult to report her experience because of Bechman's position and that he pushed the boundaries of a restraining order to control her without technically committing a violation. "He knows exactly how far he can go without being arrested," she said. She asked the court to sentence Bechman to jail time. "I lived in fear for decades and believe there must finally be consequences for what happened to me," she said. Bechman also made a statement to the court, apologizing for his actions and noting that he is trying to work on himself. "I'm haunted by this every day," he said. He also addressed those in law enforcement in connection to the count of misconduct while in office. "I betrayed your trust and our mission," Bechman said.  Recent stories by Racine Journal Times reporter Milana Doné |
Friday, August 21, 2026
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Racine Farmers Market on the Lake hosting Corn Fest on Aug. 22
Milana Doné
RACINE — The Racine Farmers Market on the Lake will feature Corn Fest on Aug. 22.
The festival is dedicated to Wisconsin-grown sweet corn, local farmers and family fun.
Market shoppers can celebrate a favorite summer food while enjoying fresh, locally grown corn and learning about the farmers who bring it from the field to the community. Market vendors will be sharing how they use corn in their products.
The event is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free and the first 300 people at the market will receive free roasted corn from Roberts Produce.
"Sweet corn is one of those foods that just screams Wisconsin summer," Racine Farmers Market Manager Dawn Carrillo said. "We wanted to create a fun celebration around something our farmers grow so well — and give our customers another reason to come out, shop local and enjoy the market."
The market's Taste It Tent will feature fresh raw corn for shoppers to sample. Kids can join the fun by searching for hidden corn-painted rocks throughout the market for a chance to win bags of kettle corn.
Racine Farmers Market on the Lake takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 24 at Festival Park.
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