I’ve already blogged about DTE Energy’s statutorily mandated surcharge and their voluntary program to help subsidize alternative energy investments. I wasn’t impressed by DTE’s logic in asking me to contribute to their investments.
Now comes word that Consumers Energy would like to decrease customer bills by $1.80 per month by reducing that alternative energy power subsidy – if state regulators approve the utility’s request to decrease the monthly surcharge to 70 cents.
Consumers reports that is has almost 80,000 acres lined up to develop two wind farms: the Lake Winds Energy Park near Lake Michigan in Mason County and the Cross Winds Energy Park in Tuscola and Huron counties in the Thumb region.
As we discussed previously, the state’s 2008 energy law mandated that 10% of Consumers’ energy (and DTE’s) be generated by renewable sources by 2015. Since then, Consumers has tacked on a $2.50 per month surcharge on customer bills. It now believes it can meet that goal and spend $1.5 billion less than originally projected.
I wonder what Consumers knows that DTE doesn’t.