La Crosse water utility outlines rate case; PSC hearing set for July 29

The City of La Crosse’s water utility told the Board of Public Works that the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin allowed a 6% rate of return in the current rate application, which modestly lowered the utility’s requested increase. “They did allow us to get that 6% rate of return,” the utility representative said, noting the PSC balances consumer protection with the utility’s financial viability.

The staffer emphasized the published percentage in a public notice can be misleading without usage context: the notice shows roughly a 63% utility-wide increase, but smaller-usage residential customers would see a much smaller dollar change. “A person using 2,000 gallons per month…their bill will be about $9.41 per month more,” the presenter said. Council President Dickinson, speaking from a residential perspective, said his quarterly combined bill calculation showed an increase of about $25.48.

The presenter said capital investment — roughly a 70% increase in capital spending since 2018 — is the principal driver of the need to raise rates, pointing to large projects such as a $10 million water-main installation on Highway 16 (where a 70% principal forgiveness award reduced the city’s repayable amount to about $2.8 million). She also noted PFAS-related work required abandoning three wells and that the city still has roughly 1,750 lead goosenecks to replace. The utility urged residents to consult the PSC rates dashboard and explained future rate cases will be evaluated annually for simplified increases when eligible.

The PSC public hearing on the rate application is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at 11 a.m. at the Black River Beach Neighborhood Center, 1433 Rose Street (Maplewood North Conference Room); remote participation options are available. Following the hearing, the presenter said the PSC will issue a final order in two to three weeks and the city then will have a 1–90 day window to implement the approved rates.