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First Phase of Upper Peninsula Task Force Complete As Propane Report Is Sent to Governor

The Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force has submitted to Governor Whitmer its formal recommendations on how to avoid a propane crisis in the region, where over 18% of households use propane, primarily for heating, compared to just under 8% for the Lower Peninsula. The final recommendations are very similar to the draft recommendations we discussed in a recent […]

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UP Task Force Bridge

Recommendations to Governor on Upper Peninsula Energy Issues Poised to be Finalized

The Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force just finished accepting comments on its draft report about how to supply the UP with propane given the possibility of supply disruption. Over 1,000 discrete comments have poured in on the task force’s work since it began, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Director Liesl Eichler

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Shoreline in Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force To Soon Address Public Comments On First Report Draft

Public comments have closed on the Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force’s draft report on how to avoid price spikes in propane used across the UP for heating, especially in the case of a Line 5 shutdown. (Links to our previous blog posts are here, here, here, here and the first here. All of the public comments submitted on draft report will be

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Map showing percentage of households with propane in Michigan by county

Upper Peninsula Task Force Releases Draft Report on How to Avoid Propane Price Spikes

Percentage of Households with Propane, Draft of “Analysis of Propane Supply Alternatives for Michigan,” Public Sector Consultants, March 2020 The developing coronavirus crisis shows how everyday life can be upended by low-probability events. In energy, people are always talking about the importance of “resiliency.” Resiliency essentially means a system’s ability to respond to many different

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Propane supply map

Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force Looks at Pipeline Disruption Scenarios

The debate over the future of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline has been one of the biggest energy and environmental stories for Michigan over the past couple years. The Line 5 controversy was one of the contributing factors in Gov. Whitmer’s decision last summer to form the Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force to examine how

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CUB of Michigan Tackling Proposals to Reduce Power Outages

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) is undergoing a rare review of the standards for electric service quality and reliability, two things that all Michigan households depend upon to have a high quality of life. The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Michigan is participating in a Workgroup of utilities and other stakeholders that are advising

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Upper Peninsula Power Co. IRP Shows That Renewable Energy Can Be The Most Affordable Option for Consumers

A settlement between Upper Peninsula Power Co. (UPPCO) – the largest energy provider in the UP – and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other groups could clear the way for an impressive increase in the amount of renewable energy in the peninsula, as well as in the state as a whole. On Dec. 6,

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Michigan Power Grid logo

MI Power Grid Update: How You Can Help Get Better Electric Service in Michigan

Amid mass power outages this past summer in the DTE and Consumers Energy service territories, tens of thousands of Michigan residents learned the hard way that the state badly needs to update its basic standards for electric service. Also, after more recent power outages, DTE COO and President Trevor Lauer recognized in a Dec. 31 interview that

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