Milwaukee County supervisors briefly tried to turn a routine utility easement into a protest over rising power bills, then backed off.
On Tuesday, the County Board’s Committee on Parks and Culture pushed back against a short run of high-voltage line slated for Menomonee River Parkway, tying their objections to We Energies’ proposed 14 percent residential rate hike. The panel first deadlocked on the easement, then flipped and voted 4-1 to recommend approval, with several members saying financial reality left them little choice. Critics framed the move as a political shot across the bow at regulators and the utility over who will ultimately pay for major grid work.
About the Mill Road–Granville project
The easement request is part of ATC’s Mill Road–Granville project, a roughly $400 million effort that includes a new Mill Road substation in Menomonee Falls and a 138 kV transmission line to the Butler substation in Wauwatosa, according to ATC. The company says construction began late in 2025 and is intended to shore up reliability and meet growing local demand. Because a short segment of the planned route cuts across county parkland, ATC needs a formal easement from Milwaukee County.
Supervisors split over park easement
The committee first split down the middle, with Supervisors Anne O’Connor, Juan Miguel Martinez and Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones voting no and Supervisors Steve Taylor, Sheldon Wasserman and Jack Eckblad voting yes, according to Urban Milwaukee. O’Connor told the outlet she opposed the easement “because of concern about We Energies’ proposed 14% rate increase,” adding, “I feel like we’re really at the whim of We Energies, the Public Service Commission.”
After a legal briefing about how little authority the county actually has over a state-approved transmission line, the committee reconsidered and voted 4-1 to recommend granting the easement to the full board.
Rate hikes are driving the backlash
Supervisors made clear that their quarrel was less about the exact path of the line and more about the price tag landing on residents. We Energies has asked regulators to sign off on roughly a 14 percent residential rate increase phased in over two years, about 9 percent in 2027 and 5.5 percent in 2028, a proposal that has already drawn public and city pushback. Milwaukee’s Common Council voted this month to oppose the filing and authorized the city attorney to intervene at the Public Service Commission, as reported in coverage that the council goes to war with We Energies over power hike.
Legal backstop makes the vote mostly symbolic
The Public Service Commission had already signed off on ATC’s Mill Road–Granville proposal, issuing a final decision in November 2025 that granted the project a certificate of public convenience and necessity, according to the Public Service Commission. That approval gives the project powerful legal backing.
Assistant corporation counsel James Davies warned supervisors that if Milwaukee County tried to block the easement, the dispute would likely end up in court, where arbitration would set compensation for the land instead, Urban Milwaukee reported.
What comes next
The committee’s recommendation now goes to the full County Board. Milwaukee County Parks, which manages Menomonee River Parkway, routinely negotiates utility easements on parkland in exchange for payment, according to Milwaukee County Parks.
Supervisors said they still hope to use their votes and the public spotlight to lean on state regulators and influence how the PSC handles both the transmission buildout and the rate case. The larger fight over who foots the bill for grid upgrades is expected to play out in PSC proceedings and public hearings later this year.
