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If the spring weather’s got you itching to start a project around your yard, always remember to contact MISS DIG 811, the state’s utility locator, before you do any digging, so that buried gas, water, sewer, telecommunications and other lines can be marked for safety.
April is Safe Digging Month, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a proclamation marking the month in Michigan. The annual observance aims to remind Michiganders that state law requires calling 811 or going to MissDig811.org at least three days in advance of digging.
Contacting MISS DIG 811 allows crews to mark buried utility lines in advance to prevent costly damage and potentially deadly consequences.
“Calling or clicking on MISS DIG 811 is required whether you’re a homeowner planting a tree or installing a new mailbox or you are part of a construction crew working on a far bigger project,” MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said. “Contacting MISS DIG 811 alerts companies with underground utility lines to send out crews to clearly mark those lines for everyone’s safety.”
Hitting underground utility lines while digging can have a major impact on communities and businesses and can result in inconvenient service disruptions and costly fines and repairs, as well as risks of serious injury or death.
After you contact MISS DIG 811, utility locators will be sent to job sites to mark the location of utilities with spray paint or flags. Anyone planning to dig is asked not to do so until utilities are marked, and to carefully dig by hand within four feet of the designated utility area.
“You should contact MISS DIG 811 even if you think the project is too small to merit a call,” said Nick Bonstell, President and CEO of MISS DIG 811. “No matter how shallow the digging may be, make the call to 811. Damage to underground utilities can have a direct impact on public safety. Contacting MISS DIG 811 is free and easy, and it will help protect you and your community.”
Learn more in the MPSC’s tip sheet on MISS DIG 811 and safe digging.
More Michigan households will soon receive energy assistance and related services thanks to an increase in funding for the Michigan Energy Assistance Program, or MEAP.
The MPSC on April 17 approved raising the Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund funding factor that supports MEAP to $1.50 per electric meter from September 2026 to August 2027, up 25 cents from the current charge. Billing meters for customers of participating utilities will be assessed $1.50 per month, limited to one meter per household, with the revenue supporting MEAP’s energy assistance and self-sufficiency services for income-eligible Michigan households.
The increased funding surcharge is expected to raise about $90 million for the year beginning with the September 2026 billing month, estimated to help provide energy security for a year for about 90,000 Michigan households.
That’s up from an average of about 50,000 households yearly before the 2024 MEAP expansion.
Legislation in 2024 expanded the income eligibility threshold for Michigan households to receive MEAP support and the amount that may be raised for it each year. The funding factor amount can be raised by 25 cents each year until it reaches the maximum cap of $2 per meter, which may be adjusted to track inflation thereafter. LIEAF was previously capped at no more than $1 per meter, with a maximum limit of funding of $50 million.
Learn more about financial assistance, payment plans, shutoff protections, tax credits and more at michigan.gov/mpsc/gethelp or at the MPSC’s Energy Assistance and Shutoff Protection tip sheet. Or call Michigan 211 for free, confidential help connecting with health and human services agencies and resources in your community.
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The most recent editions of the MPSC’s Behind the Meter explore improvements made to strengthen the public’s role when the Commission reviews major electric transmission line siting cases, and a day in the life of two employees of the MPSC’s Customer Assistance Division.
Two significant enhancements in transmission siting review are aimed at ensuring stronger public input and greater flexibility in routing options for the Commission to consider. The improvements came after residents, and the Commission itself, expressed dissatisfaction with a lack of meaningful public engagement when Michigan Electric Transmission Co. sought approval for two major new transmission lines that the MPSC ultimately approved in July 2025.
New guidelines the Commission approved in January will serve as a key document defining the MPSC’s expectation from transmission line developers for improved public participation for landowners impacted by new transmission lines and more routing options to address landowner concerns.
One of the residents who participated in the process was Valerie Wohlscheid-Brennan, whose family’s centennial farm was along the route of the originally proposed Nelson to Oneida transmission line. Wohlscheid-Brennan appears as a guest on the episode, along with MPSC Chair Dan Scripps, Commissioners Katherine Peretick and Shaquila Myers, and MPSC Chief Operating Officer Mike Byrne, the podcast’s host.
“Facing condemnation was a life-changing experience for my family and many of my neighbors,” Wohlscheid-Brennan says in the podcast, describing how she felt a sense of responsibility to contribute to the MPSC’s work to improve public engagement in future cases. “I think the guidelines are a huge win for landowners in Michigan. They show that the Commission listened and cares about ensuring residents have a reasonable opportunity to be involved in a case. Staff clearly put a great deal of thought and effort into these guidelines and addressing the issues that were raised in previous cases.”
Meanwhile, the newest episode of the MPSC’s podcast takes a look at a day in the life of two MPSC staff members whose job is to help Michigan energy and telecommunications customers navigate disputes with providers.
The MPSC’s Customer Assistance Division’s call center works to help customers find answers and resolve disagreements with energy utilities and telecommunications providers. Staff also keeps an eye out for emerging patterns or trends on customer complaint calls that demonstrate emerging billing issues or other problems a provider may need to fix.
In the podcast, Commissioner Shaquila Myers and the podcast’s host, MPSC Chief Operating Officer Mike Byrne, talk with Customer Assistance staff members Drew and Lucy about their work helping Michiganders resolve billing disputes, complaints about inaccurate or high bills, shutoff notices, power outages, damages, and more.
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Here is information about orders issued at recent Commission meetings:
- The MPSC on March 27 approved six energy storage projects totaling 1,332 megawatts (MW) of capacity, raising DTE Electric Co.’s total storage capacity to 2,606 MW, among the largest utility energy storage portfolios in the country (Case Nos. U-21193 and U-21990). The Commission approved contracts connected to the 2023 settlement agreement in DTE Electric’s most recent approved integrated resource plan and, separately, as part of the terms of DTE’s special contracts to serve a 1,383 MW data center in Saline Township. Battery energy storage provides multiple benefits to the grid, by storing excess energy created when it’s cheaper to produce and then using the stored energy to provide power during times of peak demand. Energy storage helps ensure grid resilience, reduces costs to customers, and speeds up the transition to cleaner sources of electricity.
- The MPSC on March 27 approved a rate increase for Consumers Energy to support the utility’s continued improvements in making its power grid more reliable, with fewer power outage minutes per customer and faster service restoration times (Case No. U-21870). The Commission’s approval cut out projects that were not fully supported or shown to be prudent investments, removing almost 40% of the company’s original proposed request. A typical residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month will see an increase of $6.46, or 6.1%, in their monthly bill. The new rates will take effect May 1, 2026.
Tune in to our next regularly scheduled commission meeting on May 14 at 1 p.m.
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