MPSC approves Consumers EV charging program and rate increase
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) this week granted Consumers Energy Co. permission to begin the state’s first electric vehicle charging program and increase rates by $99 million.
The PowerMIDrive program will utilize $10 million for a three-year pilot. It aspires to support Michigan’s electric vehicle market through the creation of new rates, rebates and customer education, such as a Nighttime Savers Rate. That rate encourages drivers to charge vehicles between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., in exchange for a $500 rebate per vehicle. An additional $5,000 rebate will be offered for chargers placed in public areas, though that number could go as high as $70,000 for installation of a DC Fast Charger.
The rate increase saw bills for the average residential customer, using 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, increase by $1.62 as of Jan. 10. The amount was agreed upon as part of a settlement over impacts from the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In that same agreement, a $24 million rate decrease was agreed to, alongside the elimination of the Credit A rate reduction of $123 million, resulting in a $99 million net increase overall. Consumers will have to spend at least $200 million annually on its electric distribution reliability program and $53 million annually on vegetation and tree trimming around their lines.
Consumers further agreed not to file for another rate increase prior to Jan. 1, 2020.
