Michigan

DTE, Consumers on track to reconnect power for customers, likely avoiding paying credits

Published

1 year ago

August 30, 2024

DTE, Consumers on track to reconnect power for customers, likely avoiding paying credits

Two days after severe thunderstorms knocked out power to a half-million Michigan customers, some of them are wondering whether they will receive the $38 utility credit that the Michigan Public Service Commission has set to help compensate them.

The short answer: Probably not.

There is still uncertainty about how and when the outage will be resolved, but the PSC confirmed with the Free Press on Thursday that it is likely — if the utility outage estimates and repair forecasts stay on track — neither DTE Energy nor Consumers Energy will be issuing many credits.

Both companies, when asked Thursday about credits by the Free Press, mostly sidestepped the issue.

What’s more, the lack of compensation adds to the concerns already swirling around the PSC, a state agency charged with regulating public utilities, and whether it is too close to the companies it is supposed to oversee and should do more to track, investigate and act on complaints.

Consumers Energy has said it hopes to have most repairs done Thursday; and DTE said Friday — at the latest.

As of 6 p.m., both utilities had made considerable progress on restoring power. Detroit-based DTE reported it was down to about 43,000 customers without power out of an estimated 300,000 on Tuesday, and Jackson-based Consumers Energy had about 18,000 more customers to reconnect out of about 200,000.

Customers are eager to have their power back on, but the thought of receiving no compensation isn’t sitting well with many of them who already feel that a $38 credit — which they explain doesn’t begin to cover what they lose in a power outage, especially during a heat wave — is insufficient.

“Into our second day of no power and now need to discard food from (the) freezer/refrigerator,” Doug Lombardi, of Livonia, wrote in an email he sent to the Free Press. “Suggest you do a follow up story on how and where to seek compensation for tossed food.”

And his reaction to the power outage was among one of more measured ones.

Michigan utilities under pressure

In the past few years, DTE and Consumers Energy have come under increasing fire from the public, nonprofit watchdog groups and even the state attorney general for a lack of energy reliability, which, in the freezing cold of winter or the boiling hot summer, puts Michiganders at risk.

Last year, the Free Press reported the two utilities were among the worst-performing utilities in the nation, ranked by how long it took them to get the lights back on after a power outage. At the same time, Michiganders also were paying more for electricity than their neighbors around the Great Lakes.

The criticism forced the Public Service Commission to change its utility credit guidelines, boosting the credit from $25 to $35, and now, $38, and requiring the utilities to pay them automatically, instead of making customers apply for them.

Moreover, an in-depth Free Press investigation found the PSC tends to lack decision-making transparency and, as a potential conflict of interest, gets 80% of its funding from DTE and Consumers Energy, which hold a near monopoly on providing electricity to Michigan residents.

Thursday, another Free Press investigation concluded that thousands of informal complaints lodged annually aren’t tracked well, and “most formal complaints against Michigan utilities are dismissed, and a handful of consumers have reached confidential settlements.”

The challenge now for Michiganders to get credits after this week’s ongoing outage is tied to the formula the PSC set for issuing them. The higher the percentage of customers caught in an outage, the more time a utility is allowed to restore power before a credit is required.

The measure gives utilities a grace period — 16 hours to four days — to make repairs.

The thinking behind this caveat is that more widespread outages require more effort to fix. The new guidelines, which rely on numbers reported by the utility companies, also call for utilities to credit more per day past the grace period when the grace period is exceeded.

But in this outage, based on the two utilities’ early estimates of how many people lost power — about 13% for DTE and more than 10% for DTE — and when it will be back on, there is a good chance each utility might avoid big credit payouts.

DTE said its goal is “to never have our customers in a situation where they incur the hardships that an outage brings or where reliability credits would have to be issued,” and Consumers Energy said “the discussion around outage credits really goes to a bigger issue over how well we keep the lights on for customers.”

Years of unclaimed credits

Outage credits have been around since the 1980s, as one of the measures the PSC has used to encourage utilities to enhance reliability.

But until last year, customers had to apply for them.

That meant millions in credits that customers were eligible for after frequent and long power outages didn’t get applied because customers either didn’t know the process or didn’t have time to apply and the money went unclaimed, according to a 2000 report by the Lansing State Journal.

That same year, the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board of Michigan also released a study that found when it came to reliability, Michigan’s utilities ranked among “the worst in the country.” It took days, for example, to restore power to DTE and Consumers Energy customers caught in a 2019 storm.

The Lansing State Journal — which, in addition to the Free Press is part of the Gannett network — noted the nonprofit study and interviewed the group’s executive director who called for changes to the credit policy. A year later, yet another storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

And this time, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel weighed in.

The state’s top law enforcement officer asked utilities to voluntarily credit customers affected by the outage and provide increased credits — the amount, then, just $25 — to help those who lost hundreds of dollars or more on food and hotel costs.

Adding to the pressure on the utilities, Nessel also published the results of a survey that ever since has been used by news outlets and consumer groups to question whether the credits are enough. It found 90% of the utility customers in the outage “lost between $100 to $500” and 35% “lost between $500 to $1,000.”

Amid the growing criticism, DTE said that it agreed to voluntarily issue $100 credits.

More: DTE: Power reliability must improve, outage cost estimate at more than $50M

It’s unclear whether the company would offer voluntary credits again.

When asked Wednesday by the Free Press about it, one of the corporate vice presidents acknowledged it could do better and said the company would have to have internal discussions, but did not commit to customer credits that weren’t required or rule it out.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

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Michigan

What time is Michigan basketball’s game vs Wisconsin today? TV, stream

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

What time is Michigan basketball’s game vs Wisconsin today? TV, stream

Michigan basketball finally got tested last game for this first time in almost two months.

Ever since a tough win on the road at TCU on Nov. 14, the Wolverines have been absolutely steamrolling everyone on their schedule. But Penn State finally offered some resistance that Michigan just hasn’t been seeing.

In Michigan’s third true road game of the season, the Wolverines were pushed to the brink in University Park, Pennsylvania, as the Nittany Lions found a way to keep it close without their leading scorer, freshman Kayden Mingo, who was scratched just before the game.

Michigan led by as much as 15 in the second half against the Nittany Lions, but Penn State just kept chipping away. Ultimately it came down to a final shot for Penn State’s Freddie Dilione V, who seemingly lost track of the clock and was forced to jack up a prayer that didn’t go in. As they say, an ugly win is better than an ugly loss, especially for a Michigan team who has been nearly flawless in every other game.

On Saturday, the Wolverines will return to the friendly confines of the Crisler Center for an early afternoon tipoff against the Wisconsin Badgers (CBS, 1 p.m.) for a chance to get back to the dominant style they were playing before.

Here’s what you need to know for Michigan’s game against Wisconsin on Saturday:

What channel is Michigan basketball vs Wisconsin

Michigan basketball will face Wisconsin in a nationally televised game on CBS.

How to stream Michigan vs Wisconsin basketball

Michigan basketball vs Wisconsin start time today

Date: Saturday, Jan. 10.
Time: 1 p.m. ET.
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.

Michigan basketball schedule 2025-26 next 5 games

Find the Wolverines’ full 2025-26 schedule.

Saturday, Jan. 10: Wisconsin, 1 p.m. ET, CBS.
Wednesday, Jan. 14: at Washington, 10:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network.
Saturday, Jan. 17: at Oregon, 4 p.m. ET, NBC.
Tuesday, Jan. 20: Indiana, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock.
Friday, Jan. 23: Ohio State, 8 p.m., Fox.

Michigan vs Wisconsin prediction

Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press: Morez Johnson Jr.’s early foul trouble against Penn State was a big factor in that close finish; as deep as U-M is, it does not have a replacement for his motor and ability to switch on defense. Presumably, that narrow win was a wakeup call for Michigan, and while it’s hard to expect the Wolverines to beat teams by 30 or 40 a night, this one could be lopsided by the end. The pick: U-M 92, Wisconsin 73.

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

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Michigan

Butler WR transfer Braydon Alford commits to Michigan football

Published

24 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Butler WR transfer Braydon Alford commits to Michigan football

Butler wide receiver transfer Braydon Alford, the son of Michigan offensive run game coordinator and running backs coach Tony Alford, has committed to U-M under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, he announced on social media Friday evening.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Dublin, Ohio, native didn’t appear in any games in his two seasons at Butler and has three years of eligibility remaining.

From Alford’s bio while at Butler: “Set his school’s single-season receptions record with 90 catches during his senior year… Had 1,487 all-purpose yards that year and scored 10 touchdowns… Named First Team All-Conference, First Team All-District and Third-Team All-State as a senior… Team captain… Had an outstanding game against Hilliard Bradley in Week 5 which included 14 catches for 195 yards and three touchdowns.”
Alford entered the transfer portal earlier this week and quickly became a Michigan commit.
Whittingham took the Michigan job Dec. 26 and quickly built his staff. One of three holdovers on the group of assistant coaches was Tony Alford, who’s entering his third season in Ann Arbor. Whittingham had a previous connection with Tony Alford’s family.
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“Tremendous football coach. I was blessed to have at Utah, his brother, Aaron Alford, before he passed away, worked for us for several years,” Whittingham said at his introductory press conference. “So I know the Alford family. Great family. Tony, I got a ton of respect for him and we’ll see how things work out in that direction.”
Alford was an unranked recruit out of Dublin (Ohio) Jerome.

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Michigan

Applications for spring turkey season in Michigan is open through Feb. 1. What to know

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Applications for spring turkey season in Michigan is open through Feb. 1. What to know

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources opened applications through Feb. 1 for Michigan’s spring turkey season.

Officials say there are some changes to the 2026 season, such as the number of turkey management units, which are designated areas open to hunters.

“These regulation changes uphold the goals for the spring turkey hunting season: maximizing hunter opportunity while also maintaining satisfactory hunting experiences across the state,” said Adam Bump, DNR upland game bird specialist.

Here’s what to know about licenses for the upcoming turkey season. For more information on other regulations, visit the DNR’s website.

How much do the applications cost?

Turkey season applications cost $5 each and are available online on the DNR’s website, at any license agent or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.

A map of license agents is available online.

Who is eligible to apply?

Hunters aged 17 and older during the hunting period are eligible to apply for a license as long as they have a hunter education certificate or an apprentice license.

Anyone between the ages of 10 and 16 can purchase a turkey youth license. Anyone age 9 and under can participate through a mentored hunting program to receive a license. Youth turkey licenses are valid for all three management units and season dates.

Where and when can I hunt?

In 2026, the DNR announced that it had reduced the turkey management unit from 14 to three — Upper Peninsula, northern Lower Peninsula and southern Lower Peninsula. The units also determine the type of license hunters can obtain and when they can hunt.

View a map of the turkey management units below:

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

A Hunt 0110 license is for the Upper Peninsula, with an April 18-May 31 hunting season. Hunt 0134 license is valid for the northern Lower Peninsula and is available from April 18 to May 1. The Hunt 0302 license is available for the southern Lower Peninsula from April 18 to May 1. A Hunt 0303 license is also available for the Southern Lower Peninsula (May 2-31).

These licenses have a limited number available.

Other licenses include Hunt 0234, which is for statewide (April 25-May 31), and Hunt 0301, which is for private land (April 18-May 31). Hunt 0234 is valid on private and public lands in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, but private only in the southern Lower Peninsula, as well as Fort Custer military lands, with permission.

How can I get a license?

Hunters who apply for a license are entered into a random drawing system. The drawing results are available on March 2.

The Hunt 0234 license (statewide) and Hunt 0301 license (private land) do not require people to enter a drawing. These licenses can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. on March 16. Hunters can check their drawing results online or on the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.

“These changes will give hunters longer seasons and bigger units to hunt in,” said Bump.

Anyone who is not selected in the drawing can purchase a leftover license beginning at 10 a.m. on March 9. Anyone who did not enter the drawing can purchase a leftover license on March 16.

How many licenses are available?

There is a 6,000-license quota for Hunt 0110 (Upper Peninsula), an 18,000-license quota for Hunt 0134 (northern Lower Peninsula), a 6,000-license quota for Hunt 0302 (southern Lower Peninsula April season) and an 8,000-license quota for Hunt 0303 (southern Lower Peninsula May season).

Hunt 0234 (statewide) and Hunt 0301 (private land) licenses are unlimited.