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Wisconsin Business Alliance members will ask Madison Gas & Electric to pull its current rate proposal and work with community groups to come up with a plan that works better for the utility and the ﻿entities it serves.

As of noon Monday, representatives from 47 local businesses signed a letter to Gary Wolter, MGE CEO, asking him to withdraw the company’s rate proposal submitted to the Public Service Commission. The commission is holding a public hearing on the rate case at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at 610 N. Whitney Way. No decision is expected until later this year.

Criticisms of the proposed rate plan by alliance members, among others, include higher utility bills for most MGE residential and small business customers, less customer control of their bills and less opportunity for customers to save money by conserving energy.

Steve Kraus, MGE manager of media relations, said Monday afternoon the rate case will go to the commission where, he noted, the public can provide feedback during the public hearing.

Kraus said the utility recently sent a letter from Wolter to 145,000 MGE customers outlining key parts of the current rate case and stating that the company has “made a major commitment” to its customers to ﻿talk about the “energy future of our customer base.”

As proposed, customers would see a higher monthly fixed charge ($19, vs. $10.29) with a slightly lower rate charge (13.3 cents per kilowatt hour, vs. 14.4 cents).