MPSC to hold Upper Peninsula energy assistance fair, customer listening session Sept. 20 in Marquette

Media contact: Matt Helms 517-284-8300
Customer Assistance: 800-292-9555

The Michigan Public Service Commission will host an Upper Peninsula energy assistance fair and customer listening session to provide help to Michigan utility customers and hear their thoughts and concerns on energy matters on Sept. 20 in Marquette.

The event will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Marquette Commons, 112 S. Third Street in Marquette. The fair will provide information about assistance for utility customers and give them an opportunity provide input on issues of energy affordability, accessibility, and the availability of energy assistance programs.

MPSC Staff and representatives from other local and state agencies will be on hand. Utility customers can learn about available energy assistance programs, payment plans and more, connect with local organizations providing energy assistance, and sign up for financial assistance on-site.

In addition, the public may learn about the MPSC’s role in utility access and affordability, share thoughts about what energy affordability means, and how the MPSC can best educate and engage with communities in the Upper Peninsula. A drawing for an energy efficiency kit will be extended to those who attend the listening sessions.

Participants in the listening sessions are encouraged to save time and preregister at www.research.net/r/EnergyFairMarquette. The listening sessions are part of the Commission’s Energy Affordability and Accessibility Collaborative (EAAC). The EAAC was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Commission directing MPSC staff to convene the EAAC as a means to seek “broad and diverse input from residents, non-profits, utilities, and state agencies to address the affordability of energy, access to low-income energy assistance, customer protections and low-income energy waste reduction services.”

The Marquette event coincides with the MPSC’s public hearing Wednesday, Sept. 21, 4-7 p.m. on the agency’s draft updates to the Michigan Integrated Resource Planning Parameters (Case No. U-21219). These planning parameters apply to the long-term energy plans required of Commission-regulated electric utilities. The public hearing will be held at Northern Michigan University’s Founders Room, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue in Marquette. The hearing also will be conducted by videoconference on a Microsoft Teams livestream and by phone by calling 248-509-0316 and entering the conference ID 872 780 37# when prompted. Preregistration is requested at www.research.net/r/PublicHearingSept21.

For information about the MPSC, visit www.michigan.gov/mpsc, sign up for its monthly newsletter or other listservs. Follow the Commission on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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