WattWatch/All Michigan utilities
Investor-owned utility
Alpena Power Company
Alpena Power rates rose 20% since 2019 — the average bill went from $77 to $92 a month.
Computed as revenue ÷ sales from Alpena Power’s own EIA-861 filings, 2019–2024. Not adjusted for inflation. See where that ranks.
The Michigan Public Service Commission sets your rates
Rate changes go through a public docket. Filings, hearing dates, and comment deadlines are matters of public record, and you can file a comment on them.
Dates you could act on
No open comment period right now. The most recent one closed May 5, 2026 (U-21591).
When Alpena Power files a rate case, the Commission issues a notice of hearing that sets three dates: a deadline to petition to intervene, a prehearing conference, and a period for written comments that any customer can file without becoming a party. Michigan law gives the Commission ten months from filing to decide (MCL 460.6a), so a case filed today is decided within the year.
We check the MPSC docket system every night. Rather than watching this page, have the next deadline emailed to you.
What is still undecided
These cases are open before the Commission — some are Alpena Power’s own requests, others the Commission opened on its own motion. Undecided is the only window in which a comment from you counts for anything, so these are the ones worth watching.
The document filed under Case No. U-21421 is a notice of hearing and service instructions for Alpena Power Company's application to put in place a power supply cost recovery plan for the 12 months ending December 31, 2024, including a proposed power supply cost recovery factor of 11.42 mills per kilowatt-hour. It sets a prehearing date and explains how customers can comment or intervene; it does not itself approve any rate or factor. The other attached order is in a separate case, U-21422, where the Commission approved a settlement reconciling Alpena's 2024 power supply costs and directed the company to carry a net under-recovery of $1,205,372 into its 2025 reconciliation beginning balance.
- U-21591notice PDF
Alpena Power Company has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to review and settle up its 2025 power supply cost recovery — comparing what customers were billed for power costs against what the company actually spent — and to carry an under-recovered amount into its 2026 plan. A pre-hearing is set for May 5, 2026 by video/teleconference. Customers can attend that hearing, or send a written comment to the Commission referencing Case No. U-21591.
What changed your bill
- Requested$4MApproved$2.5MROE9.85%
Alpena Power Company asked to raise its electric rates to collect about $3,959,588 more per year, with a 11.91% return on equity. The Commission approved a settlement among the company, Commission Staff, and the Attorney General that instead allows an annual revenue increase of about $2,500,000, with a 9.85% return on common equity and a 6.29% overall return. The new rates took effect on the date of the July 23, 2024 order; the residential monthly customer charge is set at $5.25 with an energy charge of $0.07926 per kWh. The company also agreed not to seek another general rate increase before January 1, 2026 and to file a separate depreciation case by December 22, 2026.
- Requested$1.8MApproved$1.8M
The Commission approved a settlement between Alpena Power Company and Commission Staff that closes out the company's 2023 power supply cost review. The settlement found that Alpena collected $15,781,706 in base and power supply revenues while incurring $17,660,734 in power supply costs, and that after applying a prior over-recovery and interest, the company under-collected $1,757,282. That balance will be carried into Alpena's 2024 power supply cost recovery reconciliation, where it is collected from customers through the company's 2024 power supply cost factor. The order itself does not state a specific change to a typical residential monthly bill.
Everything else on the docket (10)
Procedural orders, reconciliations, and cases where no approved figure could be sourced. Kept for completeness — none of these carries a number we can tie to your bill.
The Commission approved Alpena Power Company's request for accounting authority to record about $2.8 million of operations and maintenance costs from the March 2026 ice storm as a regulatory asset, rather than expensing them immediately. This approval is for accounting purposes only and does not change rates or charges for any customer. Whether Alpena can eventually collect these costs from customers will be decided in a future rate case or other proceeding, where the company must justify the costs and its proposed recovery method.
The Commission approved a power purchase agreement in which Alpena Power Company will buy energy, capacity, and renewable energy credits from a 1.5 megawatt solar array owned by Alpena Community College, with purchases expected to begin August 1, 2026 and run through May 31, 2032. The prices are based on Alpena Power's already-approved avoided cost rates and its standard contract form. The Commission stated the approval will not increase the total cost of service to customers, so this order does not change residential rates or bills.
The Commission approved Alpena Power Company's voluntary green pricing program applications, which let customers choose to pay extra to support renewable energy. Alpena proposed no changes to the program and will keep its existing optional pricing and tariff, continuing to meet demand by buying renewable energy credits. Because participation is voluntary, the Commission stated the approval does not increase rates or the cost of service for any customer, so a typical residential bill is unchanged unless a customer signs up.
Alpena Power Company asked the Commission for a temporary waiver of the customer credit rules that apply after long service interruptions, following a March 2025 ice storm that caused about 97 million customer outage minutes. The Commission approved a settlement agreement in which Alpena will still calculate and issue all storm-related customer outage credits, about $643,737, within 90 days of the order, and will receive regulatory asset treatment for roughly $332,806 in credits tied to transmission outages. This order does not change electric rates; affected customers receive outage credits on their bills.
The Commission approved Alpena Power Company's request for accounting authority to record as a regulatory asset the operations and maintenance expenses from the March/April 2025 ice storm, which the company estimates at about $2.1 million of roughly $2.25 million in total restoration costs. This is an accounting approval only and does not change rates or charges for any customer. Whether Alpena can recover these costs from customers, and by what method, will be decided in a future proceeding where the company must justify the amounts and its recovery approach.
The Commission granted Alpena Power Company a one-year waiver of two fee limits that apply to customers who want to connect their own generation equipment, such as solar panels, to the utility's system. During that year, Alpena may charge up to $25,000 for a system impact study and up to $30,000 for a facilities study, instead of the standard $10,000 and $15,000 caps. These fees are paid only by parties applying to interconnect, and the Commission stated the change will not increase rates or charges to customers generally.
Alpena Power Company asked the Commission to approve an amended renewable energy plan under Michigan's renewable energy law, including the cost of complying with the plan and a way to recover those costs. The parties reached a settlement agreement resolving all issues, and on August 7, 2025, the Commission approved that settlement. The order itself does not state any dollar amounts or changes to residential bills.
The Commission granted Alpena Power Company's request to extend a temporary waiver from the rule requiring it to record and report momentary power interruptions (outages of five minutes or less) for customers. Alpena said its current meters cannot measure these brief interruptions and that it does not plan to begin installing advanced meters until 2029. The waiver now runs through December 31, 2029. The order does not change rates and has no effect on residential bills.
The Commission approved a revised special contract between Alpena Power Company and Holcim (US) Inc. for electric service, with a term running from January 1, 2025 through May 31, 2034. The contract uses real-time pricing and reflects new power supply arrangements from Alpena's 2023 master power purchase agreement. The Commission found the contract will not increase the cost of service for Alpena's other customers, so residential bills are not changed by this order.
The Commission approved Alpena Power Company's amended integrated resource plan, which is the company's long-term plan for meeting its customers' electricity needs. The order states that the approval will not change rates or increase the cost of service for customers. Alpena must file its next resource plan or amendment, including a clean energy plan, by December 31, 2027. There is no change to residential bills from this order.
Every figure is quoted from the order it came from — hover a number to see the exact sentence and page. Figures without a quote in the source are not shown at all. Extracted figures are machine-read and not yet checked by a person.
Large load watch
Who pays for the data centers
A single hyperscale data center can ask for more power than a small city. The question in front of the Commission is not whether they get it — it is what they have to commit to in order to get it, and who absorbs the cost of the poles, wires, and generation built for them if the project shrinks or never arrives.
In U-22061, DTE Electric asked to rewrite its Rate D11 and add a provision for customers taking more than 100 MW: a minimum monthly bill regardless of how much power is actually used, administrative fees, a fee for walking away, and collateral up front. Those terms are the difference between a data center carrying its own risk and residential customers carrying it. Alpena Power has not filed a large-load provision of its own. What the Commission approves here is the template the rest of Michigan’s regulated utilities will be measured against.
DTE Electric has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to change its Rate D11 and add a new provision for very large electricity users, such as customers needing more than 100 MW, including a minimum monthly billing amount, administrative fees, a termination fee, and collateral requirements. The Commission has not decided the case; a prehearing is set for April 28, 2026 by video/teleconference. Customers can attend that hearing, file a written comment referencing Case No. U-22061, or file a petition to intervene by April 21, 2026.
The scheduled dates in this case have passed — the last was May 5, 2026. The case remains open, and an order can issue at any time. This is the one worth having emailed to you.