A Letter to Our Lawmakers – Reject Utility Handouts Disguised as Nuclear Renaissance

Americans for Prosperity–Wisconsin (AFP-WI) is urging you to vote NO on Assembly Bill 472 if it is not removed from the floor calendar. This proposal, unfortunately, uses Wisconsin’s pro-nuclear momentum to advance a utility handout and shifts financial risk from investors onto ratepayers.

To be clear, AFP-WI is pro-nuclear and supports reliable, affordable, and innovative energy solutions but believes success depends on market discipline, competition, and protecting ratepayers, not subsidizing risk or socializing losses.

Wisconsin ratepayers are already being hammered by rising energy costs, largely due to subsidizing green energy. While this bill continues on that trend, what is more concerning is giving utilities the ability to charge customers on generation projects before any electricity is produced or delivered.

The bill, including the introduced amendments, allows a utility to recover construction and planning costs from ratepayers before projects are complete, operational, or proven to be economical, effectively insulating investors while shifting risk onto families and businesses. Georgia and South Carolina allowed a similar financing structure, and unfortunately, ratepayers remain on the hook for projects that do not produce power.

Wisconsin can be a national leader in nuclear energy without repeating the mistakes of the past. Policies that lock in guaranteed returns, subsidies, and early cost recovery undermine affordability and public confidence and ultimately threaten long-term nuclear success.

AFP-Wisconsin remains pro-nuclear and supports reliable, affordable, and innovative energy solutions for ratepayers like:

• Supporting nuclear innovation without utility handouts or subsidies
• Promoting behind-the-meter generation and microgrids
• Streamlining permitting with enforceable deadlines
• Requiring competitive bidding and private-sector participation
• Prohibiting premature cost recovery
• Keeping construction and investment risks with investors, not ratepayers
• Promoting competition, accountability, and lower energy costs

Thank you for your time.