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Customers of the three-largest gas utilities in Michigan are on track to see their bills soar over the next few decades, as the utilities continue sky-high spending on gas infrastructure, a new report released by the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Michigan reveals. In addition to the bill impacts, utility gas infrastructure investment plans are […]

Data centers have been behind one of the biggest news stories of the past few years in both tech and energy – and for energy consumers, it’s not all good news. A recent Harvard Law study found that rate contracts between data centers and utilities are often shifting costs onto regular electric customers, or in

In September of last year, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) released the results of a comprehensive distribution system audit conducted by third-party firm The Liberty Consulting Group (see this blog post containing some initial takeaways from when the audit was first released), giving DTE and Consumers Energy until mid-November to respond. The responses, both

On Jan. 23, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) issued an order on DTE’s electric rate case (U-21534) that raised rates by about $217 million, increasing residential rates by 4.65%. That rate hike was only about half of what DTE asked for, but several steps not taken by the MPSC, (but proposed by groups including

Northern States Power – Wisconsin (NSP-W), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, is the regulated electric utility serving most of Gogebic and part of Ontonagon counties in the western-most part of the Upper Peninsula. CUB recently took part in a settlement agreement in NSP-W’s rate case that reduces the rate increase for NSP-W customers by 52%

Michigan regulators have open cases considering whether to grant certificates of public necessity and convenience that would allow the Michigan portions of two interstate transmission lines to be built. CUB has tried to spread the word about how these transmission projects will lead to cost savings for consumers, and new evidence is surfacing that the

Michigan regulators recently issued a warning to Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), the main electric utility for southwest Michigan: I&M has failed to show that it has been trying to get a good deal for its customers on power it purchases from an affiliated Ohio company that is a big coal-fired electricity generator, and so the

On Sept. 23 one of the most significant milestones in the effort to (hopefully) improve Michigan’s poor electric reliability arrived when the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) released the results of a year-in-the-making, comprehensive audit of the distribution systems of both DTE and Consumers Energy by third-party The Liberty Consulting Group. “We now have a

Last week the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved a $17.3 million rate increase for electric customers of Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), which, while still too high, represents another example of the MPSC demanding greater accountability for Michigan utilities because the commissioners cut the rate hike by 50% compared to I&M’s initial request. “The MPSC