Consumers Energy: Use less, pay us for more

The Bay City Times reports on a new proposal submitted to the Michigan Public Service Commission by Consumers Energy to have customers pay them more for energy in order to encourage them to use less of it.

Consumers Energy wants to charge you for using less electricity.

The company has filed a plan with the Michigan Public Service Commission to “decouple” the relationship between energy rates and use, and a ruling could come as soon as mid-November.

The idea is that the company is now encouraging people to use less electricity and natural gas through a customer-funded energy efficiency program, so Consumers needs to begin to recover its fixed costs for providing power by putting a new charge on bills.

That new charge, which has yet to be determined, officials say, means you’ll pay a little bit more in fixed costs every month on your energy bill. But the idea is that you’ll end up using less energy, so your total costs will go down.

The bottom line is, it behooves you to take advantage of the company’s energy efficiency program and rebates it provides.

So the company can then make more money from customers and have to produce less energy to earn it. Nice work if you can get it.