In accordance with our rate order approved by the PSCW in December 2022, we filed a request with the PSCW in May 2023 for a limited electric and natural gas rate case re-opener. Our limited electric rate case re-opener included updated fuel costs and revenue requirements for the generation projects that were previously approved by the PSCW and were placed into service in 2023 or are expected to be placed into service in 2024. It also included the projected savings from the retirement of the OCPP Units 5 and 6, which are expected to be retired in May 2024. Our limited natural gas rate case re-opener reflected the additional revenue requirements associated with our previously approved LNG project that was placed into service in November 2023.

On December 20, 2023, the PSCW issued a final written order approving electric and natural gas rate increases, effective January 1, 2024. The final orders reflected the following:

In April 2022, we filed a request with the PSCW to increase our retail electric, natural gas, and steam rates. Our request was updated in July 2022 to reflect new developments that impacted the original proposal. The requested increase in electric rates was driven by capital investments in new wind, solar, and battery storage; capital investments in natural gas generation; reliability investments, including grid hardening projects to bury power lines and strengthen our distribution system against severe weather; and changes in wholesale business with other utilities. Many of these investments had already been approved by the PSCW. The requested increase in natural gas rates primarily related to capital investments previously approved by the PSCW, including LNG storage for our natural gas distribution system.

In September 2022, we entered into a settlement agreement with certain intervenors to resolve most of the outstanding issues in our rate case; however, the PSCW declined to approve the settlement agreement. In December 2022, the PSCW issued a final written order approving electric, natural gas, and steam base rate increases, effective January 1, 2023. The final order reflected the following:


2023 base rate increase
Electric	$	283.5	million	/	9.1%
Gas	$	46.1	million	/	9.6%
Steam	$	7.6	million	/	35.3%
ROE	9.8%
Common equity component average on a financial basis	53.0%

•We will keep our current earnings sharing mechanism, under which, if we earn above our authorized ROE: (i) we retain 100.0% of earnings for the first 15 basis points above the authorized ROE; (ii) 50.0% of the next 60 basis points is refunded to ratepayers; and (iii) 100.0% of any remaining excess earnings is required to be refunded to ratepayers.

•We will continue to work with PSCW staff and other interested parties to develop alternative low income assistance programs. We, along with WPS, also collectively contributed $4.0 million to the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund.

In March 2021, we filed an application with the PSCW for the approval of certain accounting treatments that allowed us to maintain our electric, natural gas, and steam base rates through 2022 and forego filing a rate case for one year. In connection with the request, we also entered into an agreement, dated March 23, 2021, with various stakeholders. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the stakeholders fully supported the application. In September 2021, the PSCW issued a written order approving the application.

•We maintained our earnings sharing mechanism for 2022, with modification. The earnings sharing mechanism was modified to authorize us to retain 100.0% of the first 15 basis points of earnings above our then authorized ROE. The earnings sharing mechanism otherwise remained as previously authorized.

In March 2019, we filed an application with the PSCW to increase our retail electric, natural gas, and steam rates, effective January 1, 2020. In August 2019, we filed an application with the PSCW for approval of a settlement agreement entered into with certain intervenors to resolve several outstanding issues in our rate case. In December 2019, the PSCW issued a written order that approved the settlement agreement without material modification and addressed the remaining outstanding issues that were not included in the settlement agreement. The new rates were effective January 1, 2020. The final order reflected the following:


2020 Effective rate increase
Electric (1)	$	15.3	million	/	0.5%
Gas (2)	$	10.4	million	/	2.8%
Steam	$	1.9	million	/	8.6%
ROE	10.0%
Common equity component average on a financial basis	52.5%

(1) Amount is net of certain deferred tax benefits from the Tax Legislation that were utilized to reduce near-term rate impacts. The rate order reflected the majority of the unprotected deferred tax benefits from the Tax Legislation being amortized evenly over two years, which resulted in approximately $65 million of tax benefits being amortized in each of 2020 and 2021. The unprotected deferred tax benefits related to the unrecovered balances of certain of our retired plants and our SSR regulatory asset were used to reduce the related regulatory asset. Unprotected deferred tax benefits by their nature are eligible to be returned to customers in a manner and timeline determined to be appropriate by the PSCW.

(2) Amount includes certain deferred tax expense from the Tax Legislation. The rate order reflected all of the unprotected deferred tax expense from the Tax Legislation being amortized evenly over four years, which resulted in approximately $5 million of previously deferred tax expense being amortized each year. Unprotected deferred tax expense by its nature is eligible to be recovered from customers in a manner and timeline determined to be appropriate by the PSCW.

In accordance with our rate order, we filed an application with the PSCW in July 2020 requesting a financing order to securitize $100 million of Pleasant Prairie power plant's book value, plus the carrying costs accrued on the $100 million during the securitization process and the related financing fees. In November 2020, the PSCW issued a written order approving the application. The financing order also authorized us to form a bankruptcy-remote special purpose entity, WEPCo Environmental Trust, for the sole purpose of issuing ETBs to recover the approved costs. In May 2021, WEPCo Environmental Trust issued $118.8 million of 1.578% ETBs due December 15, 2035. See Note 21, Variable Interest Entities, for more information on WEPCo Environmental Trust.

The PSCW approved us continuing to have an earnings sharing mechanism through 2021. The earnings sharing mechanism was modified from its previous structure to one that was consistent with other Wisconsin investor-owned utilities. Under this earnings sharing mechanism, if we earned above our authorized ROE: (i) we retained 100.0% of earnings for the first 25 basis points above the authorized ROE; (ii) 50.0% of the next 50 basis points were required to be refunded to customers; and (iii) 100.0% of any remaining excess earnings were required to be refunded to customers. In addition, the rate order also required us to maintain residential and small commercial electric and natural gas customer fixed charges at previously authorized rates and to maintain the status quo for our electric market-based rate programs for large industrial customers through 2021.

Due to the cold temperatures, wind, snow, and ice throughout the central part of the country during February 2021, the cost of gas purchased for our natural gas utility customers was temporarily driven significantly higher than our normal winter weather expectations. We have a regulatory mechanism in place for recovering all prudently incurred gas costs.

In March 2021, we received approval from the PSCW to recover approximately $54 million of natural gas costs in excess of the benchmark set in our GCRM over a period of three months, beginning in April 2021.