Should state regulators penalize, reward power companies based on performance?

People who live in metro Detroit are no strangers to power outages. In fact, data shows that in Wayne County, customers see an average of 3.4 days without power annually.

The state’s average of days without power is 1.8 days.

State utility regulators are asking Michiganders should the power companies in our state be fined if they continuously take too long to get customers' power back up.

WXYZ

“Maybe not fined, but they could retroactively take away off the bill for the days that the power is out,” Kenny Bain of Taylor said.

“The problems that we have, people lose food, people got to pay to go to a hotels and everything, so they should be fined if they don’t get our power up,” Willie Calhoun of Detroit said.

“Every time that DTE and Consumers (Energy lose power), they go to the state, to the Legislator or the state’s utility commission for an increase. Overwhelmingly, they tend to get their increases, so as fairness to the consumer… I think it’s a great idea that they do get fined,” Clyde Shabazz of Detroit said.

WXYZ

Related: DTE to ask for another electric rate increase for 2025; here's how much it will cost you

“They expect us to pay our bills, so I expect that they should get fined,” Prentice Smith of Detroit said.

The fines could cost DTE Energy and Consumers Energy up to $10 million.

“Give them 20 (million dollars), then they’ll get our power up and running,” Calhoun said.

WXYZ

While the Michigan Public Service Commission proposed the idea of fining the companies, they are also thinking about rewarding them with financial incentives of up to $10 million if they get power restored quickly.

“Do you think they should be incentivized or rewarded if they do a good job?” I asked.

“ Not at all because they're doing their job. We pay them to take care of us,” Calhoun said.

RELATED VIDEO: DTE breaks ground on energy storage site in Trenton

DTE to open energy storage site in Trenton

“If there’s some incentive for DTE and Consumer... to give better service, by all means, I would agree with that,” Shabazz said.

“If you do a good job, you should be rewarded for it,” Rhonda Stone of Garden City said.

WXYZ

“They're paid to be out there, so to pay them twice to do their job is... I wouldn’t want to pay the guys who work for me a reward for doing their job,” Bain said.

MPSC is encouraging people to share their thoughts about this topic with them. You can submit your comments by sending an email to mpscedockets@michigan.gov .

You can also provide feedback through the U.S. mail posted to:

Executive Secretary, Michigan Public Service Commission
7109 W. Saginaw Highway
Lansing, MI 48917

Comments should reference Case No. U-21400.

Related: Michigan Attorney General's new website aims to hold utility companies accountable, collect consumer feedback

Where Your Voice Matters

Contact our newsroom Have a tip, story idea or comment on our coverage? Send us a message. Please be sure to include your direct contact information. First Name Last Name Email Subject Body Security Check