We Energies customers will receive a refund on their fall electric bills thanks to lower-than-expected energy costs in 2024, the company announced.
Residents will receive around four cents off their energy bill per kilowatt hour of electricity used this month, a total savings of about $26 for the average customer, We Energies said. The will appear in either September or October bills depending on the timing of customers’ billing cycles.
The refund totals under $69 million and will be split across all Wisconsin residential, commercial and industrial customers, according to Wisconsin Public Service Commission filings.
That’s because energy prices in 2024 were lower than the projection approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which sets electricity rates for the year, according to We Energies spokesperson Brendan Conway. Part of the electricity rate includes the cost of fuel used to generate electricity, which can fluctuate and end up lower or higher than expected.
On top of the refund, Conway said customers can expect energy bills to cool with fall temperatures. Electricity bills are highest in the hottest and coldest parts of the year, when residents turn on the air conditioning or heat for long periods of time. The long stretches of hot weather in Milwaukee this July pushed many customers to run air conditioners non-stop.
But a cool start to September will likely ease energy usage and lower bills this fall, Conway said.
“The biggest impact on any customer’s energy bill is the weather,” Conway said. “Unless we get a long stretch of 90s with humidity 100 degrees, I think these summer-type energy bills are in the past for this year.”
During months of high energy usage, residents can save money by adjusting their thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer and lower in the winter, Conway said. Other ways We Energies encourages customers to save money include filling gaps in doors and windows or replacing furnace and HVAC filters.
Commercial and industrial customers will receive a refund of around 3.6 cents per kilowatt hour used.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin residents to see refund on We Energies electric bill