• Michigan now requires utility companies to give customers a $40 daily bill credit for long power outages 
  • The outage credit increases by $2 and kicks in when customers are without power for extended periods
  • The credit automatically applies to qualifying customers’ accounts

Michigan’s utility companies now have to give customers an outage credit of $40 a day when their service is interrupted for extended periods or if they experience numerous prolonged outages in a year.

The Michigan Public Service Commission approved the $2 credit increase in the bill credit on Thursday. 

Qualifying customers will automatically receive the credit within 90 days of the outage. It applies to customers whose power is out for more than four days during catastrophic conditions, two days during “gray sky” conditions and 16 hours during normal conditions.

Customers who have experienced six or more sustained power interruptions in a given year are also entitled to an outage credit. 

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“We understand that the outage credit won’t cover everything lost when the power goes out, but the credit will help customers while encouraging utilities to do all they can to restore service quickly,” said Dan Scripps, chair of the MPSC in a press statement.

“The credits are one tool the MPSC is using to encourage utilities to improve the power grid to better withstand increasingly frequent extreme weather and restore power as rapidly as possible after outages.” 

The MPSC is required to adjust the outage credit for inflation each year. The commission raised it to $38 in 2023. Previously, customers could request a one-time outage credit of $25 despite how long service was interrupted. 

DTE and Consumers Energy, the state’s two largest utility companies, have been under scrutiny in recent years for frequent and long-lasting power outages. 

Since 2000, Michigan has trailed only Texas and California in the number of outages affecting 50,000 people or more. Michiganders are more likely to experience a power outage lasting longer than eight hours than residents in other populated counties in neighboring states.

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