Pleasant Prairie Power Plant Closing

In fact, residential and business utility customers throughout Wisconsin owe nearly $1 billion on stranded assets power plants like Pleasant Prairie that have been or will soon be shut down, a Wisconsin Watch investigation found. On , WEC Energy Group announced that it would be closing the plant in 2018, pending permission from Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). When the Pleasant Prairie plant was shut down in 2018, the PSC ruled that ratepayers would continue to pay We Energies to cover the cost of the plant itself, plus the nearly 10% profit.

One of Wisconsin's largest coal-fired power plants, We Energies' Pleasant Prairie facility in Kenosha County, has permanently shut down about a week ahead of schedule. The power company announced last fall that Pleasant Prairie would close this year due to changing energy economics. We Energies says its shutting down its Pleasant Prairie facility in Kenosha County next year.

The Pleasant Prairie plant was once the states largest coal-fired generator of electricity, but the shutdown notice is not a complete surprise. In 2018, We Energies decided to shut down the facility and switch to cleaner sources of energy, such as natural gas and renewable energy. The closure was part of a larger trend of coal plant retirements across the country, driven by environmental regulations, market forces, and public demand.

When We Energies announced the closing of its Pleasant Prairie coal-fired power plant in southeastern Wisconsin last week, residents and clean power activists applauded. In fact, residential and business utility customers throughout Wisconsin owe nearly $1 billion on stranded assets power plants like Pleasant Prairie that have been or will soon be shut down, a Wisconsin Watch investigation found. In the years before We Energies pulled the plug on the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant, the plant had mostly gone dark in spring and fall.

Not only had coal become more expensive than natural gas and renewables, but energy consumption stayed flat. One of Wisconsins largest coal-fired power plants, We Energies Pleasant Prairie facility in Kenosha County, has permanently shut down about a week ahead of schedule. The power company announced last fall that Pleasant Prairie would close this year due to changing energy economics.