Energy Reform Bills due in a House Committee Today

While road funding dominated discussion in the Michigan House and Senate Tuesday another big issue was lingering in the periphery – energy reform.

A pair of bills are due for a vote in a House committee this morning.

The legislation was first introduced in the spring and will likely undergo a number of changes today.

State Representative Jeff Irwin says one thing to keep an eye on is electric rates.

He says one change to the bill may be to increase electric rates on residential customers as much as 5 percent to offset a reduction in industrial rates.

Some lawmakers on the committee are concerned about voting for a major energy policy overhaul without much time to digest what’s changing.

Lawmakers on the committee received one of the bills, which is 66 pages long, Tuesday afternoon.