Rising utility rates cause concern for Racine County animal sanctuary

 

RACINE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Higher utility rates have the caretakers of an animal sanctuary in Racine County crying foul. Their bill has far surpassed what We Energies estimated the average customer would see from month to month.

We were told to expect to pay on average about $8 more for electric and up to $4 more for natural gas. Tiny Hooves Sanctuary's bill was way higher, and they tell us that's putting them at risk of having to close.

The 140-plus animals who live at Tiny Hooves are more like family to Sandi Swiss. That’s why the rate hike hurts.

"It hurt really bad. It's just a big sinking feeling in your chest and then panic, just thinking how are we gonna raise this money," said Swiss, animal care volunteer at Tiny Hooves Animal Sanctuary.

"So what we've got here is our latest bill," said Swiss.

For February's gas and electric, Tiny Hooves is facing a combined total of $1600.

"And we're gonna owe that on the 26th. Last year, which is right here, it was about $1200," said Swiss.

That's a $400 increase.

"So that's additional money we can't spend on feed, that we can't spend on essential medical care," said Swiss.

The rate hike took effect Jan. 1, but We Energies spokesman Brendan Conway says extra cold days raise bills too.

"So if you look at your therms and you can also look at your kilowatt hours on the electric side, you probably use a little more on the electric side when it's cold as well. Each person is different. If you're running a space heater a lot," said Conway.

Every two years, the rate is evaluated. It doesn't always go up. When it does, Conway says it's to maintain reliable service, like tree trimming.

"We know that weather is getting more and more severe and the single biggest thing that's causing outages during severe weather, high winds come into contact trees and large branches," said Conway.

While customers try to deal with this latest sticker shock, Conway suggests lowering your thermostat to 68 in the day, and 65 at night, but that hasn't worked for Swiss.

"The very first thing we did was the thermostat inside the barn, we did lower it by a few degrees to see if that would make a difference. Obviously we can only lower it by so much because that is where our senior and special needs live," said Swiss.

Another suggestion is to try the WE Energies Budget Bill to keep your monthly payment the same for six months.