PSCW to hold hearings for proposed biomass facility

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) will hold public hearings Nov. 30 in Rothschild, Wis., on our application to construct a biomass-fueled cogeneration plant at the Domtar Paper Mill in the village of Rothschild.

The public hearings will be at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites in Rothschild. Administrative Law Judge Michael Newmark will preside over the hearings. The PSCW also will hold a technical hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 2 at the PSCW office in Madison.

The hearings represent the final steps in the plant's approval process. The PSCW decision is expected in early 2011. If approved, the targeted in-service date for the plant is late 2013.

We filed our application on March 10, 2010, for approval to build and operate the 50-megawatt plant, which will supply steam for Domtar's mill operations as well as electricity for our customers.

Biomass energy project

Interactive map shows power outage locations

You now can view power outages on the We Energies system on a map.

The map shows outage locations in our service area by county and municipality. To ensure customer privacy, the map does not provide detail at a street or address level.

A number of electric utilities across the country have something similar, and we also heard directly from our customers through surveys and feedback that they wanted this feature on our website. 

The map is updated every 15 minutes and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and shows: 

· Outage locations
· Numbers of customers affected
· Times outage were reported

The map also includes a search function for specific locations, such as ZIP code areas. The map has no provision for outage reporting, so you still need to call us at 800-662-4797 to report an outage.

We Energies outage map

New service center planned for Menomonee Falls

We are planning to build a new service center for the first time in two decades. Located in Menomonee Falls, Wis., the center will combine operations of the current Menomonee Falls Service Center and certain functions of the Calumet Service Center in Milwaukee. When the new service center is finished next fall, Calumet will be closed. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 16 at the new location, which is at the intersection of Lilly Road and Warren Street.

Several years ago, Village of Menomonee Falls officials identified the existing Menomonee Falls Service Center as prime for retail development and offered to relocate it to a new property. The project was approved after careful consideration on the impact a move would have on operations and customer service.

“This is an opportunity to replace a 45-year-old facility with a new, energy-efficient service center and to promote economic development within the Menomonee Falls community,” said Art Flowers, area manager – Customer Operations. “Plus, operating out of the new location will allow us to improve customer response times – a win for all involved.”