Upper Peninsula Power Co. withdraws request for waiver on outage credit rules

Transmission lines | Robert Zullo/States Newsroom

After filing a request earlier this year for a permanent waiver in how it counts power outages, Upper Peninsula Power Co. has withdrawn its application, according to a Monday announcement from the Department of Attorney General.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel intervened in April on the case before the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC).

The MPSC — which regulates energy companies within the state — introduced updated service quality rules in 2023, which included stricter requirements on repeated outages. Customers who experience six or more outages in a 12 month period are entitled to a $38 outage credit. Under the updated rules, energy utilities are required to track the number of outages and provide an automatic credit to customers, who previously had to apply for it.

Nessel pushes back on Upper Peninsula Power Company’s request for outage credit waivers

In its request to the MPSC , Upper Peninsula Power Co. asked for a permanent waiver of one of the rules tied to repeated power interruptions, asking the commission to allow it to report a single sustained outage during catastrophic conditions even if service was lost and restored multiple times.

Catastrophic conditions are defined as events where 10% or more of a company’s customers are without power. While the company cited the rural and heavily wooded nature of its coverage area when justifying its request, Nessel deemed the request “unreasonable and unnecessary.”

On Thursday, the company filed its request to withdraw the waiver request.

In a statement, Nessel said she was glad to see the request withdrawn, but voiced concerns about Upper Peninsula Power Co.’s compliance with the outage credit rules.

In response, she filed a request with the MPSC, asking staff to ensure the company has effective processes in place to evaluate all outages eligible for automatic credit, and to issue those credits in a timely manner. She also asked the commission to determine if Upper Peninsula Power Co. has issued billing credits in a timely manner since April 10, 2023, when the revised rules on outage credits took effect .

If not, Nessel urged the company to provide supplemental credits for each month of delay.

Under the updated service quality rules, companies are required to issue the credit within 90 days.

“While I am glad that [Upper Peninsula Power Co.] has withdrawn its request, I remain deeply concerned about the company’s compliance with the outage credits rules,” Nessel said.

“As the state regulator of [the company] the MPSC must carefully oversee the company’s adherence, and all audit results should be made public. If [the company] fails to issue bill credits in a timely manner, they must compensate affected customers. Just as [Upper Peninsula Power Co.] charges late fees on customers for overdue bills, the company should face consequences for failing to issue the legally required outage credits on time,” Nessel said.

In her request, Nessel stressed that the company should not attempt to recover the supplemental outage credit costs in future rate cases. The MPSC will determine how the matter is resolved.

Brett French, Upper Peninsula Power Co.’s vice president of business development and communications, did not respond to a request for comment.

The post Upper Peninsula Power Co. withdraws request for waiver on outage credit rules appeared first on Michigan Advance .