HOUSE BILL NO. 4973

A bill to amend 1939 PA 3, entitled

"An act to provide for the regulation and control of public and certain private utilities and other services affected with a public interest within this state; to provide for alternative energy suppliers; to provide for licensing; to include municipally owned utilities and other providers of energy under certain provisions of this act; to create a public service commission and to prescribe and define its powers and duties; to abolish the Michigan public utilities commission and to confer the powers and duties vested by law on the public service commission; to provide for the powers and duties of certain state governmental officers and entities; to provide for the continuance, transfer, and completion of certain matters and proceedings; to abolish automatic adjustment clauses; to prohibit certain rate increases without notice and hearing; to qualify residential energy conservation programs permitted under state law for certain federal exemption; to create a fund; to encourage the utilization of resource recovery facilities; to prohibit certain acts and practices of providers of energy; to allow for the securitization of stranded costs; to reduce rates; to provide for appeals; to provide appropriations; to declare the effect and purpose of this act; to prescribe remedies and penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts,"

(MCL 460.1 to 460.11) by adding section 9g.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 9g. (1) Except as otherwise provided in section 9f, if a customer's service is interrupted during a billing cycle, the electric utility shall automatically provide the customer a bill credit on the customer's next electric utility bill equal to the amount described under subsection (2). If the customer's credit under subsection (2) exceeds the amount of the customer's bill for the billing cycle, the electric utility shall automatically carry forward the balance of the credit to subsequent billing cycles until the credit is expended.

(2) The bill credit in subsection (1) must equal 1 of the following:

(a) For a residential customer, the following amount:

(i) Five dollars for the first hour of service interruption.

(ii) Seven dollars for every hour of service interruption greater than 1 hour but less than 5 hours.

(iii) Ten dollars for every hour of service interruption of at least 5 hours but less than 12 hours.

(iv) Twelve dollars for every hour of service interruption of at least 12 hours but less than 24 hours.

(v) Fifteen dollars for every hour of service interruption of at least 24 hours but less than 48 hours.

(vi) Eighteen dollars for every hour of service interruption of at least 48 hours but less than 72 hours.

(vii) Twenty-five dollars for every hour of service interruption of at least 72 hours or more.

(b) For a nonresidential customer, an amount determined by a formula established by the commission under subsection (4).

(3) Beginning 5 years after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section and every 5 years thereafter, the commission shall adjust the credits in this section. The commission shall adjust the credits in this section by comparing the percentage increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding year by the corresponding Consumer Price Index 5 years earlier. The commission shall multiply that percentage change by the amounts in this section. The commission shall round up each dollar value adjustment made under this subsection to the nearest dollar. The commission shall announce the adjustments made under this subsection by June 1.

(4) Not later than 12 months after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this section, the commission shall issue an order that sets the formula for the nonresidential customer credit based on a product of the number of outage hours and a multiple of that customer's average hourly load for the preceding 12 months.

(5) As used in this section, "Consumer Price Index" means the most comprehensive index of consumer prices available for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. ____ (request no. S00500'25) or House Bill No. 4974 (request no. H00500'25) of the 103rd Legislature is enacted into law.