LANSING — People in state government are raising concerns about the stability of the Michigan’s electric grid.
Some say utility customers have not seen improved service, despite higher rates from providers.
“So much of our infrastructure hasn’t been replaced,” said Rep. Dave Prestin, (R) District 108, Cedar River. “I think that’s a lot of the reason why you’ve seen the mass — the catastrophic failures Up North, with the ice storm, because a lot of the infrastructure just is old and outdated.”
In March, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a $154 million rate increase for Consumers Energy, down from the $325 million they had initially requested.
“I don’t see anything changing until we actually start to really seriously look at Michigan and its energy policy in a bipartisan way and in a way that’s sympathetic to the rate payers,” Prestin said.
According to the MPSC, the average residential Consumers bill comes in at $102.45 a month, or $1230 a year. A decade ago, that rate sat at $72.70 a month, or $872 a year.
Consumers said those investments are resulting in quicker restoration times in normal weather — the average outage length decreased from 176 minutes in 2023 to 155 minutes last year.
In 2024, Consumers spent $63.5 million on energy projects, in addition to clearing 7,000 miles of trees or branches along power lines.
Regulators have approved a total of more than $800 million in rate increases in the last decade, down from the $1.9 billion that Consumers has asked for.
Data from the MPSC shows these requests have increased rates for the average customer by more than $22 a month, or $267 annually.
Some lawmakers, like Sen. Gary Peters, suggest greater investment in reliability from other sources, like the federal government.
“What we know is that when power lines are blown down with a storm, it’s a whole lot more expensive picking up after a storm than it is if you just invest up front and actually build a harder system,” he said.
Peters has introduced a bipartisan bill to extend federal grant programs that have already provided more than $120 million for Michigan’s grid resilience.
“The program is coming to an end next year,” he said. “That’s why my legislation will extend it for another five years and make sure places like Northern Michigan get their fair share.”