Seniors and members of income-eligible households in Michigan have protections against having their utilities shut off during winter months.
The Winter Protection Plan (WPP) protects seniors and low-income customers of electric and natural gas providers whose rates are regulated by the MPSC. WPP prevents shutoffs from Nov. 1 to March 31.
Customers qualify for the protection if you:
- Are 65 or older;
- Receive Michigan Department of Health and Human Services cash or food assistance, or Medicaid;
- Or have a household income at or below 150% of federal poverty level guidelines.
Eligible seniors in the WPP aren’t required to make specific monthly payments during the heating season. The WPP allows eligible low-income customers to make monthly payments equal to 7% of their estimated annual bill, November through March, and avoid shut-off during that time even if their bills are higher.
At the end of the protection period, both low-income and senior customers participating in the plan must pay off any money owed in installments between April and November.
To learn more or to apply for this or other shut-off protection plans, contact your utility. You can find contact info for utilities regulated by the MPSC at our utility contacts page.
If your household is struggling with home energy bills, help is available. Learn about financial assistance and other resources at www.michigan.gov/mpsc/gethelp.
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November is Carbon Monoxide Awareness Month, and the MPSC urges Michiganders to be smart about the dangers of the potentially deadly gas in their homes.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas known as the invisible killer because it’s undetectable to human senses, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Carbon monoxide fumes can enter a home when a fuel-burning appliance, like a furnace or water heater, isn’t working properly or vented correctly, or if a portable generator is located outside and too close to a home’s doors and windows or is operated indoors.
Hundreds of people die each year in the United States from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, and more than 20,000 per year visit emergency rooms, with more than 4,000 hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What can you do to keep your family safe? Here are tips:
- Install carbon monoxide alarms in your home. Place them in a central location outside each sleeping area and on each level of your home.
- Test carbon monoxide alarms and replace batteries regularly.
- Have your home heating system, hot water heater and any other appliance that burns fuel serviced annually by a qualified technician.
- Never run a gas-powered generator inside a home or garage. If running one outside, make sure it is far enough away — at least 20 feet — from doors and windows so that exhaust fumes don’t enter your home.
- Know the warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning: feeling dizzy, light-headed or nauseated. If you experience these warning signs, move outside or to a well-ventilated area immediately.
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Energy waste reduction (EWR) programs continued to save Michiganders money in the form of more than 1.75 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity and nearly 7 million thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of natural gas not used in 2023, according to an annual Michigan Public Service Commission report.
The MPSC’s 2023 Utility Energy Waste Reduction Programs Annual Report on the Implementation of Public Act 295 of 2016 makes clear the benefits of robust EWR programs in Michigan. EWR offerings for residential customers include steps to upgrade lighting, heating, ventilation and cooling, weatherization, energy education, appliance recycling and other ways residential customers can use energy more efficiently and save money on their energy bills.
Michigan’s electric and natural gas utilities spent more than $551 million on EWR programs in 2023, and that spending is expected to result in savings of $1.4 billion over the 12-year lifecycle of EWR programs and measures. For every dollar spent on EWR programs in 2023, customers see $2.54 of benefits, the report concludes.
Here are details about orders the Commission approved at its Nov. 7 Commission meeting:
- The Commission approved a $113,788,000 rate increase for DTE Gas Co. (Case No. U-21291), designed to allow the company to continue needed investments in the safety modernization of its natural gas transmission and distribution system. DTE Gas had requested to raise rates by $266 million, with $106 million already reflected in rates from a previously approved infrastructure surcharge, for a net increase of $160 million. A typical residential customer using 100 ccf (hundred cubic feet) of natural gas per month will see an increase of $1.98, or 2.28%, in their monthly bill. In addition, due to the approved Infrastructure Recovery Mechanism (IRM) surcharge, customers will see an increase of 66 cents, or a 0.74% increase over past bills, starting Nov. 21, 2024. The IRM surcharge will increase annually until 2029, resulting in an additional increase of $6.28, or 7.04%, by Jan. 1, 2029, over the initial rate and IRM approval. The IRM allows DTE Gas to recover costs related to gas main, pipeline, and gas meter improvements for continued safety and reliability for customers.
- The Commission approved two orders as part of efforts to implement changes to Michigan’s energy waste reduction (EWR) laws enacted as part of the state’s 2023 energy law revamp, specifically Public Act 229 of 2023 and related definitions in Public Act 235 of 2023. In Case No. U-21567, the Commission directed MPSC Staff and the MPSC’s Energy Optimization Collaborative to establish the final format of the Michigan Energy Measures Database, including efficient electrification measures. Case No. U-21567 deals with implementation requirements for Energy Optimization Plans, which include required EWR plans for electric and natural gas providers and optional efficient electrification plans by electric providers. In Case No. U-21670, the Commission assigned docket numbers and filing deadlines for EWR annual reports and reconciliations for Alpena Power Co.; Consumers Energy Co; DTE Electric Co. and DTE Gas Co.; Indiana Michigan Power Co.; Northern States Power Co.; Upper Peninsula Power Co.; Michigan Gas Utilities Corp.; and SEMCO Energy Inc. Meanwhile, in Case No. U-21679, the MPSC assigned docket numbers and filing deadlines for upcoming EWR plan filings for these utilities for calendar year 2025.
Tune in to our next regularly scheduled commission meeting on Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.
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