Have your say in Michigan's energy future

News media contact: Matt Helms 517-284-8300  

Customer Assistance: 800-292-9555   

Sept. 9 public hearing in Grand Rapids is your chance to weigh in on state’s assumptions for long-term plans for electric utility reliability and affordability, incorporating the new clean energy standard and factoring in renewable energy goals, environmental compliance, electric vehicles, potential data centers and more

Want to have your voice heard when it comes to Michigan’s energy future? The Michigan Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing Sept. 9 in Grand Rapids to hear from the community about how certain factors should be included in the state’s electric utilities’ long-range plans for producing electricity to meet customer energy needs.

The public hearing will be 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Eberhard Center, 301 W. Fulton Street in Grand Rapids. The hearing will be in-person, and anyone may attend and provide their thoughts on how different electricity generating technologies should be analyzed to ensure utilities can meet their customers’ electricity needs in the long term.

Officially called Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) planning parameters, these guidelines establish what Michigan’s electric utilities must consider in their required long-term modeling of future electricity demand, essentially a roadmap for ensuring they’ll have enough electricity over a period of up to 20 years to meet residential and business customer demand, while meeting clean energy standards.

IRPs address a range of issues, including the planned retirement of current electricity generation resources, the planned or anticipated need for new power generation, the appropriate mix of different electricity generation technologies to meet customer needs, laws and regulations, the timing for building or acquiring those new resources. An IRP can also address programs that impact utility customer pocketbooks in other ways, such as home or business energy efficiency efforts that can reduce utility bills and programs to address utility affordability.

IRP planning parameters answer important issues like:

•        How much electricity will be needed by electric vehicles in the state.
•        How much electricity will be needed for homes and other buildings that may switch to electricity for space and water heating.
•        What is the expected cost for natural gas used to fuel power plants.
•        How utilities will meet environmental standards and renewable goals and clean energy standards.
•        How adoption of rooftop solar and other distributed generation technologies will impact electricity demand.

IRPs are required under Public Act 341 of 2016, which directs all rate-regulated utilities to submit IRPs to the MPSC for review and approval.  Public Act 235 of 2023 directs the incorporation of Michigan’s clean energy standard in IRPs.

Anyone needing an accommodation to attend the meeting or to inquire about accessibility may call 517-282-8090.

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

# # #