The CEO of Consumers Energy of Michigan, Patti Poppe, is on tour letting customers know that the utility plans to add 6,00 Megawatts of new solar and retire 5 coal fired plants.

Ms. Poppe wants Consumers customers to signup for smart grid meters and technology to reduce the demand for electricity on the grid. Yes, the CEO of an electric utility wants you to use less energy.

Efficiency standards are improving and by adopting new technology along with new generation, it will reduce energy waste and ensure that Consumers doesn’t have to build new power plants.

“Consumers’ long-term plan calls for doubling its rate of efficiency by 2030 to 2% of its annual load by 2030. Legislation passed in 2016 creates incentives for utilities if they go beyond 1%, which was set in Michigan’s first renewable energy standard in 2008. The 2016 legislation also eliminated a 2% efficiency spending cap.”

Clean energy advocates hold up Consumers’ integrated resource plan as a model for other utilities in Michigan to follow. Most recently it has drawn comparisons to DTE Energy’s, which was filed in March. Clean energy groups criticize DTE’s plan for favoring company-owned generation, failing to build out significant amounts of solar, and only boosting energy efficiency targets to 1.75% by 2040. Analysts have said recently that DTE’s modeling is broadly flawed to discount the value of clean energy, ultimately delaying any significant climate action until after 2030.

Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.

Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.

Additional Information: https://energynews.us/2019/08/29/midwest/utility-ceo-were-betting-on-the-people-of-michigan-to-help-avoid-new-power-plants/