Who We Are

Thanks for visiting us!

WI4ROFR is a real coalition of people from throughout Wisconsin — rural and urban, suburban and country, and everyone from farmers and factory workers to businesses, office workers, and ratepayers from every corner of the state. We have joined together in a bipartisan spirit of cooperation to encourage and promote swift legislative approval and enactment of a so-called Right of First Refusal law — commonly called ROFR.

Just as several other Midwestern states have done, including our neighbors in Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan, enacting the ROFR reform in Wisconsin will help protect ratepayers against increased costs and expensive delays on power grid upgrades and expansions. The problem is that opportunistic developers and hedge fund operators are waiting to grab these projects, even though they don’t have the best interest of Wisconsin ratepayers in mind.

ROFR Will Protect Ratepayers

The ROFR law is aimed at making sure that Wisconsin companies get the first chance to build the needed additions to and expansions of our state’s power grid. In the next decade, more than $4 billion will be invested in our state transmission system, and lawmakers need to approve a policy now that will help ensure that Wisconsin consumers, businesses, and all ratepayers benefit from these improvements.

Approving ROFR means that companies with a demonstrated track record of community commitment, local accountability, and success in building, operating, and maintaining Wisconsin’s transmission grid will continue to build new lines and manage needed upgrades.

There is a broad base of legislative support throughout the state for this reform among both Republicans and Democrats in the State Senate and the State Assembly. They are joined by an impressive list of state economic development groups, businesses, municipal utilities, cooperatives, farmers, local chambers of commerce, labor unions, and many others.

Without ROFR, consumers will pay more to maintain the grid. Projects will take longer to build. Decisions about operations will be made by people with no accountability to the citizens of Wisconsin. Having the hedge funds control our grid also exposes the system to more safety concerns and reliability risks.

Large Power Users will Benefit

All of this is especially important to large power users. Without a ROFR protection law, large users will face longer project timelines and forfeit the economic benefits from the infrastructure in which they’ve invested in for the past 40 years. With ROFR in place, the large power users and others will gain more protection from the added costs that come with opportunistic developers and money fund operators. Delay also means it takes longer to get increased access to more solar and other renewable energy supplies and tap into cheaper power sooner rather than later.

There is urgency to this issue. The multi-state, regional agency that recommends transmission system grid improvements has recently announced a series of new projects that has significant impact for Wisconsin. Without a ROFR law, there is a real risk and concern because others will see profits rather than people and community.

During the past several years, there have been at least four public hearings on this topic, and 2025 will be the third time the legislature considers this issue. While Wisconsin has stalled, others have moved forward. States are enacting laws to protect their ratepayers and businesses, both big and small.

Statewide Support

That’s why we have come together. That is why we are working as one coalition with members in every part of the state, in both political parties, and throughout business, industry, and labor to send a message that the Legislature needs to act and it needs to act promptly. Failure to do so puts the state and its ratepayers at increased risk.

We have included some resources for you to consider and review. Please contact us with any questions about how you can help. We welcome additional help and support, and we hope you’ll reach out to us to join the coalition and support our effort.