Though it was removed from the budget repair bill, Gov. Scott Walker's plan to privatize Wisconsin's state-owned power plants remains alive.

"We're still looking at a range of options regarding the power plants moving forward," said Cullen Werwie, Walker's press secretary.

The controversial plan was the focus of another dustup this week when the State Building Commission approved spending $9 million for upkeep and improvements at the plants prior to their sale — a move slammed by Democrats.

Jeff Plale, administrator of the Division of State Facilities, said Friday that the proposal to sell the plants will probably be either introduced as separate legislation or added to Walker's budget.

Plale said the administration remains committed to the idea of selling the plants because it would be cheaper for the state to buy power from a private operator.

The proposal as it appeared in the budget repair bill called for selling all 37 power plants, including the Charter Street Heating and Cooling Plant on the UW-Madison campus, to private operators. Most controversial, however, were provisions to sell the plants with no bids and with no review by the Public Service Commission. The plan also gave the state the authority to decide what constitutes a fair selling price.