MI Utility To Implement Summer Peak Rates

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electricity-safe-223e

Consumers Energy is implementing a new peak summer rate starting June 1. Spokesperson Brian Wheeler tells WSJM News the company worked with the Michigan Public Service Commission to come up with a plan to give customers an incentive to reduce electricity usage during the peak summer hours of 2 to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

“We actually are expecting that many people are going to see reductions in their energy bills, right off the bat,” Wheeler said. “But the sorts of things that people can do, we want them to maybe reduce their thermostat temperatures by one or two degrees, shift the use of appliances such as dishwashers and your laundry to outside that window. By doing that, that’s where you see the most impact on your bills.”

For most of the year, households will pay a single price for electricity. From June through September, on-peak pricing will be in effect. Consumers Energy has sent letters to all of its residential electric customers explaining the new rate’s effects on their bills and offering tips on how to use is to save money.