Michigan Utilities Seek to Further Limit Customers Eligible for Choice

Two Michigan utilities have filed tariffs with the PSC to further restrict the types of customers eligible to take electric customer choice.

Specifically, Cherryland Electric Cooperative (U-17511) and Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association (U-17510) have filed for approval of tariff changes to increase the minimum demand threshold for a customer to take retail access from 50 kW to 1 MW.

The cooperatives said that no customers were currently taking service under the existing retail access tariffs.

The cooperatives noted that, in 2008, the statute governing electric choice for electric cooperatives, namely MCL 460.10x, was amended to provide that, "[a]ny retail customer of a cooperative with a peak load of 1 megawatt or greater shall be provided the opportunity to choose an alternative electric supplier," though eligibility for smaller customers appears to be permissive, rather than prohibited.

Each cooperative would allow aggregation of an individual customer's meters to achieve the 1 MW threshold.