Madison, Wis., Customers May Have to Pay More for Wind-Generated Power

Madison, Wis., Customers May Have to Pay More for Wind-Generated Power

By Judy Newman, The Wisconsin State Journal -- April 21

Madison electricity customers will wind up paying more and getting less of their power from wind, unless Congress comes through with a key tax credit soon, a Madison Gas and Electric Co. official says.

A 1.8 cent-per-kilowatt-hour tax credit for wind energy expired Dec. 31, 2003, when Congress failed to pass the massive energy bill. Local utilities, including MGE, are depending on that credit to move forward with projects to expand wind power.

"We're holding our breath," said Greg Bollom, MGE assistant vice president of energy planning. MGE is in the final stages of negotiations to buy power from a wind developer. The Madison utility company has said it's seeking proposals of 10 to 20 megawatts -- enough to light 3,500 to 7,000 homes -- by 2005.

"Having the tax credit -- or not -- has a big impact on what the price of energy will be under any contract we sign," Bollom said. Without the tax break, the price of wind power will be about 3 cents a kilowatt hour higher for retail customers, he said.

"We would probably go ahead with a smaller amount of wind because the price would be a lot higher," Bollom said.

Wisconsin Power & Light Co. of Madison wants to add 100 megawatts of wind power by the end of 2005, "contingent" upon renewing the tax credit, spokesman Chris Schoenherr said.

Schoenherr said he thinks the credit eventually will be extended and Steve Hiniker, executive director of the environmental group, 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin, agrees. "There's too much support from utilities, consumer groups, businesses. Virtually no one is against this," Hiniker said.

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