|
|
Hello, and welcome to the July 2022 edition of the MPSC Spotlight. The MPSC recently launched a new Facebook page, and we hope you’ll join us there. You can read more about it in this issue of the newsletter, along with news about the Commission’s recent order in the ongoing review of Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline application, the Commission holding its next regular meeting in Detroit, and more.
|
|
|
The MPSC used the annual Social Media Day on June 30 to launch a new MPSC Facebook page so we can reach more Michiganders and share news and information about energy and telecommunications issues.
We hope you’ll give us a like at www.facebook.com/MichiganPSC, and follow us if you’re so inclined. We’re happy to be able to expand our reach on the second-largest social media platform in the United States, where nearly 70% of adults use Facebook.
Look for topics including important public safety announcements and educational posts about energy, energy savings, expansion of broadband internet and other matters that affect Michiganders. We’ll also keep you updated on issues such as assistance programs for income-qualified households and reports about activities at the Commission.
“The MPSC is excited to join Facebook to share information and broaden its public outreach at this important time, as Michigan’s transition to clean energy picks up pace and there’s renewed work to ensure affordable high-speed internet service can reach all parts of the state,” MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said. “We look forward to interacting with Michiganders about matters that impact us all, from how we power our lives to how we ensure access online.”
You can also catch us on Twitter and LinkedIn and watch videos of meetings and other content on our YouTube channel.
|
|
The MPSC on July 7 ordered the record reopened in Enbridge Energy LP’s application to relocate the Line 5 pipeline to a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The Commission found the record deficient on critical matters of engineering and safety and determined that additional evidence is needed for the Commission to complete its analysis (Case No. U-20763).
The Commission directed Enbridge to file information to develop a full and complete record on matters including tunnel engineering and safety, electrical equipment and risk of fire and/or explosion, and the safety of the current dual pipelines, including leak detection systems and shut-down procedures.
The Commission deferred scheduling for the filing of testimony, exhibits, and rebuttal evidence, including an opportunity for cross-examination, to the administrative law judge in this case.
Enbridge in April 2020 filed an application seeking siting approval under Act 16 of 1929 to replace and relocate the Line 5 section in the Straits of Mackinac into a new tunnel it would build beneath the lakebed. The 645-mile interstate pipeline spans both Michigan peninsulas to transport light crude oil and natural gas liquids, including propane used for home heating in Michigan.
You can monitor developments and learn more about the Enbridge matter at the MPSC’s website dedicated to the case, www.michigan.gov/MPSCLine5.
|
|
|
esidents of southeast Michigan have a chance to attend a MPSC meeting without a drive to Lansing as the Commission holds its next regular meeting in Detroit on Wednesday, July 27.
MPSC Chair Dan Scripps, Commissioners Tremaine Phillips and Katherine Peretick will meet at 1 p.m. July 27 in Room L-150 at Cadillac Place, 3044 W. Grand Boulevard west of Woodward Avenue in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood. MPSC Staff also will be on hand.
All Commission meetings are open to the public, and there is a period of time at the end of the meeting reserved for public comment when any member of the public is welcome to address the Commission.
The meeting also will be held by videoconference using Microsoft Teams and by phone. Additional information about how to participate remotely will be available at the Commission’s web page for the July 27 meeting. An agenda for the meeting will be posted at that web page no later than July 26.
Hope to see you there!
|
Here’s information on other orders the Commission approved July 7:
- The MPSC approved a settlement agreement authorizing Consumers Energy Co. to raise natural gas rates by $170 million, a reduction of nearly 40% from the Jackson-based utility’s initial request (Case No. U-21148). Under the settlement, Consumers Energy will increase to $250 million, for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2022, the company’s spending on its ongoing $2 billion Enhanced Infrastructure Replacement Program, a long-term effort launched in 2012 to replace 2,600 miles of natural gas pipeline across Michigan. New rates are effective Oct. 1. A typical residential customer using 100 cubic feet of gas per month will pay an additional $6.98, an increase of 5.8%, on their monthly bill.
- The MPSC set two public hearings on the Michigan Integrated Resource Planning Parameters draft that MPSC Staff filed (Case No. U-21219). The MPSC invited interested persons to attend the hearings and provide comment. The hearings will be Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, 4-7 p.m. at the Lake Michigan room of the MPSC’s offices at 7109 W. Saginaw Highway, Lansing, and on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, 4-7 p.m. at Northern Michigan University’s Founders Room, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue in Marquette. Public participation by videoconference and phone also will be available. Additional details about how to participate remotely will be announced when details are finalized. Meanwhile, the MPSC also announced it is seeking input on proposed updates to Michigan’s integrated resource planning filing requirements (Case No. U-18461). After stakeholder review through the MPSC’s Advanced Planning Phase III of the Integration of Resource, Transmission, and Distribution Planning MI Power Grid workgroup, MPSC Staff submitted a final draft redlined version of the updated requirements, and the Commission now requests comments from interested persons. In both matters, electronic or mailed comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. Sept. 12, 2022, with reply comments due no later than 5 p.m. Oct. 3, 2022. Written comments should be sent to Executive Secretary, Michigan Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 30221, Lansing, MI 48909. Electronic comments may be e-mailed to mpscdockets@michigan.gov. Be sure to reference the appropriate case number when submitting comments.
- The MPSC is seeking comment on its proposal to set the funding factor for the state of Michigan’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund (LIEAF) at 90 cents, an increase of 3 cents from the year before (Case No. U-17377). LIEAF raises up to $50 million each year, through a monthly per-meter charge assessed on retail electric billing meters in all rate classes that cannot exceed $1. Funds raised through LIEAF are distributed through nonprofit service agencies across the state through the Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP), which in 2021 provided energy assistance and self-sufficiency services to 57,101 qualifying households.
- The Commission directed MPSC Staff to launch a Distribution System Data Access workgroup as part of the ongoing MI Power Grid effort to maximize the benefits as Michigan transitions to clean, distributed sources of energy (Case No. U-21251). In response to the growing adoption of distributed generation (DG) and electric vehicles, the Commission directs Staff to convene utilities, DG contractors, EV charging infrastructure providers and other stakeholders to tackle tasks including developing a methodology to study bi-directional hosting capacity, identifying data-related and privacy-related considerations, and conducting a grid integration study as requested by the Michigan Senate in Senate Resolution 143 of 2020. Technical assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization Initiative’s State Technical Assistance to Public Utility Commissions program will also support Staff in completing the tasks outlined in today’s order. The grid integration study is to be completed and filed in the docket by Dec. 31, 2022.
For more about orders approved July 7, check out the MPSC’s news release.
Have a utility complaint, or need help with your utility service? We’re here to help. Submit your complaint or inquiry online or call 800-292-9555.
Tune in to our next regularly scheduled virtual commission meeting on July 27, 2022, at 1 p.m.
|
|
|
The mission of the Michigan Public Service Commission is to serve the public by ensuring safe, reliable, and accessible energy and telecommunications services at reasonable rates.
Michigan Public Service Commission
517-284-8100
7109 W. Saginaw Hwy,
Lansing, MI 48917
Stay Connected with Us!
|
|
|
|
|
