February 2, 2023
Last month, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a settlement agreement secured by the Sierra Club and our partners, forcing Consumers Energy to:
- Increase their rooftop solar (distributed generation/DG) cap to 4%, beyond the 1% cap set by Michigan's energy statute.
- Turn their Electric Vehicle pilot programs into permanent programs.
- Design/implement a building electrification pilot program targeting 2,000 propane and fuel oil customers, with consideration given to low-income residents and direct design input from us/our intervening partners.
- Provide $10 Million in shareholder money (not ratepayer money) for LI bill assistance and automatic/direct payment of arrears for customers in danger of shut-off.
- Design/implement community solar pilot programs in consultation with our partners who focus more on DG.
- Defer their wholesale storage tariff to the next rate case with our consultation.
“This is a groundbreaking settlement that enables rooftop solar and builds out electric vehicle infrastructure, all while saving money and directly helping those most in need,” said Mike Berkowitz, Sierra Club’s senior Beyond Coal Campaign representative for Michigan. “We thank the Michigan Public Service Commissioners for their swift approval of this solution-focused settlement.
This agreement is silent on coal because we resolved those issues in a separate settlement in 2022.