Marklein Presented with 2025 Stephen J. Freese Champion of Electric Cooperatives

April 2, 2025—Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), who serves as co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, is the recipient of the 2025 Stephen J. Freese Champion of Electric Cooperatives Award. WECA President and CEO Rob Richard presented Marklein with the award at WECA’s Education and Lobby Days event in Madison on Tuesday, April 1.

Marklein, who represents State Senate District 17, was selected for the award for his commitment and support of Wisconsin’s electric cooperatives. He sponsored Assembly Bill 352 to strengthen cooperative governance and credit extension, helped re-establish co-ops’ eligibility for the Wisconsin Disaster Fund, supported $2 million in disaster assistance funding for Washington Island, and supported bipartisan legislation to expand EV charging in the state. He is also the recipient of the 2019 “Enlightened Legislator of the Year Award,” and regularly meets with leadership at co-ops in his district, including Oakdale, Richland, Scenic Rivers, and Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative. He also promotes programs such as Focus on Energy to help rural businesses and co-op members save on energy costs.

WECA Director of Government Relations Joe Mesec sat down with Marklein at WECA’s Education and Lobby Days event in Madison to talk about key issues. Marklein said he is concerned about rural Wisconsin losing its voice in Madison.

“As far as our rural areas, lost population is a very, very big concern of mine and should be a concern of everybody. When you look at the rural school districts, and I've got over 30 school districts in my district, their enrollment is dropping and it's related to the farms and related to our rural economy,” Marklein said. “Now more and more of your legislators are from urban areas and fewer and fewer from rural backgrounds, so your voices need to be loud.”

Marklein was raised on a dairy farm in Spring Green and worked as an accountant with a focus on fraud until his retirement. He was President Pro Tempore of the state Senate from 2017 through 2021. He also served four years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 51st Assembly District.

Senator Howard Marklein and WECA Director of Government Relations Joe Mesec

WECA's 2025 Education and Lobby Days Coincide with Historic Election

April 2, 2025—Politics loomed large at WECA’s 2025 Education and Lobby Days event on April 1-2, 2025, in Madison as day one coincided with spring election day and the most expensive state Supreme Court race ever held in the nation. While Supreme Court races are nonpartisan, Democrat-backed Susan Crawford defeated the Republican choice of Brad Schimel by a solid ten-point margin. The final tally for the race, which has national implications, was $107 million. A liberal-leaning Supreme Court may lead to the redistricting of Congressional districts to favor Democrats, which could put the slim Republican majority in the U.S. House in jeopardy.

On April 2, after the votes were tallied, WECA’s Director of Government Relations Joe Mesec hosted a panel discussion with political analysts Chuck Chvala and Bill McCoshen at the Madison Concourse Hotel as part of Education and Lobby Days. Chvala celebrated the resounding election results with a victory lap, saying it was an early measure of the Trump Administration.

“I think what happened is that there were some fundamental things that were being decided, and one of the things was how do people feel about the early days of the Trump Administration? And that became more of an issue because Elon Musk came here, handed out $1,000,000 checks, et cetera,” Chvala said, adding that DOGE, which seeks to weed out government waste, fraud, and abuse, demonstrates only “anecdotal” findings, and is doing more harm than good.

WECA Director of Government Relations Joe Mesec, Bill McCoshen, Chuck Chvala

McCoshen agreed that Musk’s efforts to influence the election in Wisconsin backfired, but said Schimel needed Musk’s campaign donation to compete. “But he didn't need to be going to Green Bay and giving out million-dollar checks. That's sort of a straw that broke the camel's back in my mind. Voters were like, ‘OK, we don't do that here.’  And I think it had a significant negative impact on Schimel.”
    
Electric cooperative leaders from across the state attended the two-day event in Madison. On Tuesday, they headed to the Capitol to meet with state lawmakers and/or staff members to talk about key issues impacting the industry, including the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) law.

The law would help ensure Wisconsin’s incumbent utilities are prioritized in key transmission projects, which would allow for a return on investment that would translate to lower rates for members.

Some lawmakers expressed fatigue over the ROFR issue, which was also WECA’s main focus last year. This year, a joint committee held a four-hour hearing on the ROFR bill, which brought mixed opinions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Vernon Electric President and CEO Craig Buros and other co-op leaders talk     about the key issues with Senator Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska).

Co-op leaders also asked lawmakers to support two bills and a resolution aimed at advancing nuclear energy in the state and a bill to help eradicate wild parsnip. While no bills are currently on the table related to third-party and community solar, they may resurface, so co-op leaders reminded lawmakers of previous concerns, largely due to lack of consumer protections, and the violation of state law in regards to electricity sales.


 

WECA's Beth Alesch snaps a photo of representatives from Rock Energy Cooperative before they head out to meet with lawmakers.	Central Wisconsin's Lee Lehrer awaits his next meeting with fellow director Ron Onesti.	Representative Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander) hosts a meeting in his office.

Spring Storm Hits Great Lakes Region with Ice, Snow

April 4, 2025—A spring storm brought heavy ice and snow to Wisconsin, northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, and parts of Indiana on Sunday, knocking out power to more than 400,000 people.

Washington Island Electric Cooperative requested Restoration of Power in an Emergency (ROPE) assistance, and Adams-Columbia Electric Cooperative responded by sending two crews to help with power restoration.

In the Upper Peninsula, Alger Delta Electric Cooperative reported 1,800 outages and was assisted by Adams-Columbia, Chippewa Valley Electric Cooperative, and Eau Claire Energy Cooperative.

Winter Storm Frannie led to one of the greatest power restoration efforts ever in the hardest hit areas.

A second spring storm hit parts of Wisconsin on Wednesday.

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Photo credit: Alger Delta Electric Cooperative. 3/30/25		Photo courtesy: Washington Island Electric Cooperative

ROFR - What is It, and What You Need to Know

February 18, 2025—The Right of First Refusal (ROFR) allows Wisconsin’s incumbent transmission owners to build and maintain key infrastructure, ensuring affordable, reliable energy for cooperative members. When transmission projects are regionally cost-shared through MISO, incumbents can spread costs across multiple states, lowering expenses for Wisconsin ratepayers. Without ROFR, non-incumbent developers could take over projects without the ability to share overhead costs, leading to higher bills and reduced local control.

Introduced by Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and State Rep. Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca), SB28/AB25 strengthens Wisconsin’s energy independence by keeping infrastructure decisions in the hands of experienced, in-state providers. It also enhances grid reliability by ensuring seamless integration with existing systems while supporting local jobs and economic growth. Incumbent utilities can deliver cost-effective, well-regulated projects, avoiding the inefficiencies of non-local developers.

Now that SB28/AB25 have been introduced and referred to their respective committees, it’s time for Wisconsin’s cooperatives to take action. Passing this bipartisan reform will protect ratepayers, preserve cooperative values, and secure Wisconsin’s energy future. Contact your state representatives today to ensure ROFR becomes law.

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