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Marquette – Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) is requesting Michigan Public Service Commission approval of the Company’s latest filing.
According to UPPCO officials, the filing, if approved, returns the full benefit of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) to customers, recovers investments being made in the UPPCO Smart Energy™ advanced metering solution, resets the Power Supply Cost Recovery factor to reflect current market conditions, eliminates the $2.25 fee that is currently assessed whenever a customer utilizes a credit/debit card to pay their bill and adjusts the rates being charged to all customer classes to accurately reflect the true cost of service.
“As a rate-regulated utility, the Company routinely submits regulatory filings to the Commission to comply with Michigan’s laws and regulations,” said Brett French, UPPCO’s Vice-President of Business Development and Communications. “Our latest filing addresses the revised Tax Code, reductions in energy consumption and the need to update our rates. The filing also seeks to recover the cost of installing advanced meter reading infrastructure; a measure that is designed to improve upon reliability, deliver increased customer service and eliminate the current practice of reading meters every other month.”
The company successfully reduced customers’ bills by $14 Million during 2018 through a variety of cost-saving measures. “We are committed to managing and containing costs throughout the business,” according to French. “If approved, a typical residential customer consuming 500 kilowatt hours of energy per month would see an increase of approximately $6.50 on their monthly bill. Residential customers that use more than 1,500 kilowatt hours per month will see a decrease. In return, our proposal provides considerable value to our customers for many years to come.”
The Commission has 10 months to review UPPCO’s proposal and issue its Order in the case. An Order is expected in July 2019 and the new rates would go into effect after the Commission’s Order has been issued
