WISCONSIN RATEPAYER FUNDED LOW INCOME ENERGY PROGRAMS

CURRENT PROGRAMS
Rate Assistance
  • Low-Income Public Benefits Fund (PBF)
    • Eligibility: Income at or below 60% SMI; customer of electric utility paying into PBF
    • Provides non-heating electric bill benefit based on household income, size, electric non-heating costs
Energy Efficiency
  • Low-Income Public Benefits Fund
    • Eligibility: Income at or below 60% SMI; customer of electric utility paying into PBF
    • Operated in coordination with federal WAP
    • Measures include: refrigerator replacements, furnace upgrades, insulation, lighting upgrades, health and safety measures, and energy education
Participating Utilities
  • Statewide PBF
    • We Energies, Alliant Energy, Xcel Energy, Madison Gas & Electric, Superior Water, Light & Power, Northwestern Wisconsin Electric, Dahlberg Light & Power, North Central Power, Pioneer Power & Light, Westfield Electric, Consolidated Water Power; plus 15 electric cooperatives and 54 municipal utilities
Annual Funding (2018)
  • PBF Rate Assistance: $38.9 million(including crisis and furnace repair)
  • Municipals/coops rate assistance: $1 million
  • PBF Weatherization: $19 million
Households Served (2018)
  • PBF Rate Assistance: 194,166 electric benefit/ 9,234 crisis assistance
  • PBF Weatherization: 6,045
Funding Mechanism
$21.3 million in annual "transferred amounts" based upon 1998 expenditures, plus monthly access fees embedded in customer electric bills; fees may not exceed the lesser of 3% of total monthly bill or $3.15/month for residential customers or $750/month for nonresidential
Administration
Department of Administration, Division of Energy Assistance (LIHEAP and WAP grantee)
LEGISLATION
Authorizing
Act 9 of 1999, aka Reliability 2000
REPORTS / EVALUATIONS

State Report: Wisconsin, from Ratepayer-Funded Low-Income Energy Programs: Performance and Possibilities, APPRISE and Fisher, Sheehan, and Colton, July 2007

Home Energy Plus Public Benefits Annual Report

Assessment of Gas and Electricity Savings for Homes Treated under Wisconsin's Home Energy Plus Low-Income Weatherization Program, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation, February 2014

Department of Administration's Energy Services Informational Paper 88, Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, January 2013 (Includes PBF history and budgets through 2012)