Michigan Bills Would Force Utility Companies To Pay For Power Outages

MICHIGAN — New legislation proposed by two state Democratic lawmakers would force utility companies to pay for power outages in southeast Michigan and statewide.

The bills were proposed by state representatives Abraham Aiyash of Hamtramck and Yousef Rabhi of Ann Arbor. Customers would receive a $5 credit per an hour during the outage. The credit would then increase to $25 per an hour if the power outage lasts longer than 72 hours.

Customers who also see frequent power outages would also be covered under the new legislation. Customers would see an additional $100 credit for four power outages lasting longer than one hour within a four-month period. Customers who experienced six outages in a six-month period would receive $200, and $300 if eight power outages occur within a 12-month period.

"When the power goes out, which happens far too often, there are real financial burdens for Michigan families. These bills will provide much needed relief and incentivize utility companies to improve their services and keep the lights on," Representative Abraham Aiyash said. "We continue to pay more and more for our electricity, but receive the same abysmal service year after year."

Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders lost power last August after heavy storms swept through the state, particularly the metro Detroit area. Some residents lost their power for a week or longer. DTE paid those who lost power from the incident with a $25 credit.

Utility companies, including DTE called those August storms "historic" and said most of the outages were caused by trees and branches falling on power lines. Since then, they've invested in more tree-trimming operations in the hopes of preventing future power outages.