The Milwaukee Post

Soybean conference in Milwaukee MILWAUKEE — More than 270 repre- sentatives of major international compa- nies interested in importing U.S. soy came together for the second annual U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange in Milwaukee last week. Areas represented included China, the Middle East, Vietnam and many others. International representatives commit- ted to buy $2.8 billion worth of U.S. soy dur- ing last year's U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange in Davenport, Iowa. In the most recent marketing year, U.S. soybean farmers exported more than 1.7 billion bushels of U.S. soy to customer beyond our borders. The value of these exports set a record of more than $28 bil- lion. "Every other row of U.S. soybeans is exported, so it is imperative to build and retain strong relationships with our inter- national customers," says Jim Call, a soy- bean farmer from Minnesota and United Soybean Board chairman. "The Global Trade Exchange gives U.S. soybean farmers a great opportunity to meet face to face with these valuable customers and prospec- tive buyers as they commit to buying mil- lions of bushels of our soybeans." www.unitedsoybean.org BR Metal buys Falls property MENOMONEE FALLS — BR Metal Technology has bought a 20,440-square-foot building in Menomonee Falls, it was announced last week. BR Metal Technology, a precision cus- tom fabrication company, plans to expand its business; it has two other locations in Menomonee Falls. Commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley Barry represented the seller, CHIC Corp. www.brmetal.com Burton named agency manager MILWAUKEE — Anthony T. Bouton has been named agency manager at The Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. to lead business development and operations for the company's Milwaukee agency. Bouton is responsible for driving prof- itable sales growth, plus training, coach- ing and developing current and future sales managers in the region. Bouton earned several sales awards during his eight years at Liberty Mutual Insurance. His experience also includes sales positions in the Atlanta, Ga. area. Most recently he was with Circle Consulting Services, Inc. Bouton and his wife, Theresa, reside in Richfield with their son, Cooper. www.westernsouthernlife.com Mayfair partners with MATC WAUWATOSA — Mayfair Mall is part- nering with the Milwaukee Area Technical College's School of Media & Creative Arts Music Occupations Program. Weekly scheduled entertainment featur- ing student and faculty musicians began Thursday in the food court. "Mayfair's new partnership with MATC is a great addition to the shopping experience by supporting their music stu- dents and providing the performance venue for them to demonstrate their tal- ents and entertain our shoppers," said Stephen Smith, senior general manager of Mayfair. The ongoing schedule of performances will be available at www.mayfairmall.com. Shopko to remodel all stores MILWAUKEE — Shopko unveiled the results of remodeling efforts at its 133 stores on Thursday. The remodel included removing large jewelry cases to make shopping more con- venient and accessible. The change permit- ted expansion of the jewelry and women's apparel departments. Headquartered in Green Bay, Shopko Stores Operating Co. is a $3 billion retailer that operates 320 stores in 21 states. www.shopko.com 14 • Milwaukee County Post • September 19, 2014 BUSINESS By JOE VANDELARSCHOT Conley News Service MILWAUKEE — The state's largest utility, We Energies, is seeking rate increases in 2015-16 for electric and natural gas cus- tomers. The utility is also propos- ing a 75 percent increase to the fixed charge on monthly bills to $16 a month from $9. It also wants provisions for those using solar panels, which is not sitting well with at least one nonprofit organization. We Energies is proposing a 1.8 percent overall electric rate increase, but is informing the public through a bill insert that the increase for residential cus- tomers would be more than dou- ble that. Those customers, who would also pay an increased "esti- mated fuel adjustment," would see their electric bill increase by 4.7 percent. If the proposed request is granted, residential customers would see rate increases far above next year's projected inflation rate, expected by the Federal Reserve to be about 2 percent. According to information from the state Public Service Commission, We Energies' resi- dential customers' bills have risen by 51 percent since 2005 while the rate of inflation rose 22 percent. Rates for Wisconsin Electric Gas customers in 2015 are pro- posed to increase by 3.2 percent for those who use 781 therms per year, but fall by 2.4 percent for cus- tomers who use 769 therms per year. In 2016, those using 769 therms per year would see no change in their rate, but cus- tomers using 781 therms or more per year would be see a 2.9 percent increase. The utility is also seeking changes in 2016 for customers who generate renewable energy. The utility wants to ban leasing solar panels rather than owning them. It also wants a new fee for customers generating their own electricity. "All customers benefit from access to our electricity network, even if only they use it intermit- tently," spokeswoman Jessica Williamson said. Under the current rate struc- ture, customers with rooftop solar and other energy generation sys- tems essentially use the system for free, she said. Some customers generate more power than they need. They use the grid to sell the excess power to We Energies without paying to use the grid. The change is about keeping costs for access and use of the grid fair for all. "We support green energy, but we think other customers should- n't be paying more than their fair share of the cost," Williamson said. RENEW Wisconsin is a non- profit group working to advance renewable energy policies for Wisconsin through advocacy, edu- cation and other initiatives. RENEW's Program and Policy Director Michael Vickerson said with its proposal We Energies has made it clear "they don't want customers to self-generate elec- tricity." "They are profoundly discour- aging solar-power generation," Vickerson said. "It's breathtak- ing." Vickerson said other utilities that have made similar proposals regarding solar-energy producers at least have included provisions to shelter current producers and have the changes affect only new producers. "It's like buying a savings bond and being told after the first year that the interest rate you'd expect- ed is going down," Vickerson said. "It's not fair to those who've invested in producing solar ener- gy and expected a certain rate of return. We Energies is trying to recapture about one-third to half of the savings being received by the solar producers." Vickerson said a rough esti- mate indicates someone who now produces solar energy and receives about $1,000 a year in sav- ings, will see that drop to about $507 in 2016. "The only way to prevent this is for the public to make their opinions known to the PSC," Vickerson said. "I doubt com- ments to We Energies will do any good." We Energies weighs rate hike Proposes 75% increase in fixed charge Photo by John Ehlke/Conley News Service A We Energies meter tester works at a residential home. The utility company is proposing an electric rate increase for its customers. At a glance The PSC will hold public hearings at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Oct. 8 at Milwaukee's Wilson Senior Center, 2601 W. Howard Ave. Under PSC rules, com- ments can either be written on the PSC website through Oct. 7 or pre- sented at the public hearing. An administrative law judge will preside over a hearing involving the proposal on Sept. 24 in Madison.

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