LANSING, MI – State utility regulators want Michigan’s big power providers to improve grid reliability, starting with how they communicate during outages and bad weather.
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) ordered the state’s largest two electricity providers to immediately begin to improve communication with emergency responders and local governments during power outages and extreme weather conditions.
The agency directed both DTE Electric and Consumers Energy to meet at least once with local government and emergency response teams from their service territories by March 31. The goal is to improve what information is relayed to whom and when during outages and damaging storms.
Related: DTE aims to improve grid reliability 60% over 5 years
The commission’s chairperson recently said Michigan’s power outage statistics show there’s a lot of work to be done to improve the electricity distribution grid as storms grow stronger and more frequent.
“When you look at the baseline metrics, in terms of the duration of outages over the last five years, they’ve been going in the wrong direction. And so, it shows that even with the investments that we’re making, even with the strategies that we’ve deployed, we’re not keeping pace with the change in the climate,” said MPSC Chairman Dan Scripps in a December interview.
Metrics show power outages in Michigan last longer, particularly in storm conditions. Also, more people are experiencing multiple outages.
Related: Consumers Energy aims for smaller power outages, no longer than 24 hours
“There are some real pain points on the system,” Scripps said. “The actual frequency of just how often the power goes out is basically middle of the pack. But when it does go out, it stays out longer.”
Scripps said Michiganders are often understanding about temporary power outages because of bad thunderstorms or ice storms. But that grace only lasts so long.
“The customers don’t say, ‘Oh, well, it was a big storm, I should be out for a week.’ I’ve never heard a customer say that,” Scripps said.
Consumers and DTE are both expected to meet with local community officials and report an update back to MPSC employees by April 30. A detailed new communication plan is required by July 1.
Related: Michigan’s utilities struggle to keep the power on as climate change intensifies
The required plans must explain how the utilities will let customers know of outages and expected restoration times, as well as how the companies intend to improve the accuracy of their updates.
Both DTE and Consumers issued reliability improvement plans in recent months.
DTE wants to improve grid reliability by 60% over five years, while Consumers Energy aims to reduce the size of power outages and ensure they last no longer than 24 hours.
Consumers Energy spokesman Brian Wheeler said the company is eager to work on the issue.
Related: Ice storm showcased Michigan’s fragile electric grid. Here’s what could be done to bolster it
“Consumers Energy looks forward to continued collaboration with local governments and emergency response teams to understand if communications can be improved during storms and associated restoration work,” he said.
In related news, the commission last year sought public comments on a “straw proposal” to develop financial penalties for utilities with customers who experience repeated, lengthy power outages.
MPSC employees received nearly 300 comments from the public and interested organizations such as the utility companies, Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, and Natural Resources Defense Council.
Related: Michigan regulators may tie utility earnings to grid reliability in ‘straw proposal’
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also filed comments. Among her suggestions was that incentives should only ever be paid to utilities for superior performance.
“In other words, meeting the target performance for the year is not enough, the overall target performance must be exceeded to show superior performance in order to receive any incentive payments,” Nessel’s submitted comments read.
A final report from a workgroup on the agency’s “straw proposal” is expected by May 3.
Finally, an independent audit is expected back in late summer this year that will analyze storm response, and equipment and operations of the distribution grids for both DTE and Consumers.
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