Protesters petition for Milwaukee to establish its own power utility

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A group of demonstrators dropped off petition signatures Friday in their latest push to have Milwaukee establish its own electric utility.

The effort was led by a collection of left-wing organizations. The Milwaukee chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the Greater Milwaukee Green Party, and Our Wisconsin Revolution were among those collecting signatures.

The groups converged on Milwaukee City Hall Friday afternoon to drop off the signatures. Their hope is Milwaukee push aside We Energies and set up a city-owned power utility.

Greg Brown, a leader of the Power to the People Campaign, said one reason for the change would be, if done right, it should lower costs for ratepayers and ensure more money goes toward maintaining infrastructure.

"The utility bills tend to lower because you're not paying for the profit margin," Brown said. "You're just paying for the service."

Los Angeles and Nashville are among the biggest U.S. cities with municipally-owned electric utilities.