Microsoft Challenges ATC Plan for Data Center Transmission Costs

Microsoft and Wisconsin ratepayer advocates have challenged a proposal by We Energies and American Transmission Company (ATC) to allocate transmission infrastructure costs for data centers. The plan would require Microsoft, which is building a large data center in Mount Pleasant, to pay for its share of the upgrade costs based on its projected electricity needs.

The utilities argue that this approach will prevent other customers from paying for overbuilt infrastructure if the facility uses less electricity than anticipated. However, Microsoft and ratepayer advocates claim that the proposal fails to adequately protect Wisconsinites from cost shifts and that the two utilities left little room for input from those most affected.

ATC anticipates spending more than $500 million to upgrade the Mount Pleasant facility's connection to the electrical grid, which would be passed on to customers through their electrical bills. Microsoft has asked FERC to send the entire proposal to a settlement judge, creating a venue for all parties to work through their concerns.

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) also argued that the proposal poses risks to ATC's other ratepayers, including those outside of We Energies' territory. CUB regulatory affairs director Corey Singletary noted that the proposal would base minimum transmission charges on ATC's standard interconnection rates, which may not accurately reflect the actual cost of data centers' transmission needs.