October 2, 2006

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) today announced a new, voluntary agreement with Michigan natural gas and electric utilities that will provide additional help to low-income customers this winter.

"Last year, the PSC established emergency rules to help low-income utility customers avoid shut-offs," said MPSC Chairman J. Peter Lark. "This year, my fellow Commissioners and I are pleased to announce that Michigan utilities have come together voluntarily to offer similar help this winter season. This is a major step to provide assistance to the people who need it most."

MPSC Commissioner Laura Chappelle added, "I commend the hard work and cooperation of the Michigan utilities and the Commission staff in reaching this consensus outcome."

The voluntary agreement helps low-income and senior residential customers by:

• Expanding eligibility for the Winter Protection Plan to households with income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (up from 150 percent of the federal poverty level).
• Lowering the amount required to maintain Winter Protection Plan status from 7 percent to 6 percent of the estimated annual bill.
• Adding an extra month to the Winter Protection Plan, providing protection from shut off from November 1 through March 31. (The current statutory period is December 1 through March 31.)
• Allowing people 20 days or more to pay their bills. (The current payment period is 17 days.)
• Prohibiting shut-offs based on an estimated bill. An actual metered amount must be used, except when access cannot be gained to the meter.
• Prohibiting shut-offs for non-payment of late fees.
• Offering more flexible ways for all residential customers to pay bills under settlement agreements.
• Establishing a lower cap on residential customer deposits. Deposits will be calculated as the amount equal to the average monthly bill for the premises. (The current amount is twice the average peak season monthly bill.)
• Establishing a limit on new, small commercial customer deposits. Deposits for commercial customers who use up to 350 thousand cubic feed of natural gas or 15,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually will be calculated as an amount equal to the average monthly bill for the premise. Current rules allow deposits to be 25 percent of the annual bill.
• Offering a discount of up to 25 percent on energy bills for homeless shelters.

Customers should contact their utility for additional details or to determine if they are eligible.

Utilities part of the voluntary agreement are: DTE Energy (Detroit Edison and MichCon), Consumers Energy Company, SEMCO Energy Gas Company, Michigan Gas Utilities - MGU, Alpena Power Company, Edison Sault Electric Company, Indiana Michigan Power Company, Upper Peninsula Power Company, We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Xcel Energy, and the rural cooperatives belonging to the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association. Other utilities offer similar programs.

The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Labor & Economic Growth.