WPS to refund electric rate hikes The state lowers an interim fuel cost increase News-Chronicle Electricity customers of Wisconsin Public Service Corp. will see a small refund on their electric bills after the state Public Service Commission lowered an interim fuel cost increase granted in February. WPS had sought a $7.4 million retail rate increase in February and was granted a $6 million increase to cover additional fuel costs for its generators due, in part, to an extended, unplanned outage at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant. Typical WPS customers will see a $1.25 rebate on their bills in October or November, depending on the timing of the approval of the agreement. In addition, the surcharge will be dropped for the rest of the year. The PSC determined that the interim fuel increase granted to WPS in April should be reduced because an unusually cool summer lowered the overall fuel costs for the utility. PSC staff is expected to complete the written order of the Commission's finalized decisions by September 24, 2004. "When we received permission to increase charges, we projected costs based on normal weather," said John Guntlisbergen, Director of Revenue and Margin Analysis for WPS, in a statement. "Since the original request, however, the milder weather resulted in the company paying lower market prices for power than expected and allowed us to avoid the operation of our generating units with higher fuel costs. We're happy to make this refund to customers and reduce the rate a bit."