Contractors want utilities out of conservation business. (Wisconsin's electrical and mechanical contractors oppose competition from electricity and natural gas utilities for energy conservation services)

Electrical and mechanical contractors who are worried that deep-pocketed utilities are taking away their business have new hope to change the practice.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is revisiting a wall-worn docket that looks at the kinds of energy-related businesses the state's electricity and natural-gas utilities can enter. Public hearings on the issue will get underway Oct. 19 in Madison.

Some utilities have expanded their reach into energy services that help customers install more efficient beating and air-conditioning units, as well as energy-saving motors and drives used in manufacturing.

CONSERVATION-FRIENDLY

Those energy services, …