WattWatch/All Michigan utilities
Investor-owned utility
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation
UMERC rates rose 5% since 2019 — the average bill went from $83 to $83 a month.
Computed as revenue ÷ sales from UMERC’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
- November 10, 2026U-22086 · prehearing conference
Prehearing conference before ALJ Lesley C. Fairrow, held by video/teleconference; any interested person may participate.
What is still undecided
These cases are open before the Commission — some are UMERC’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.
- U-22031notice PDFRequested$0M
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to review and settle up its renewable energy costs for 2025 and to approve a new renewable energy surcharge, with an over-recovery balance of $305,966 and revenues totaling $2,250. A pre-hearing is set for July 9, 2026 at 9:00 AM by video/teleconference. Customers may attend and speak, send a written comment referencing Case No. U-22031, or file a petition to intervene by July 2, 2026.
This case covers Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation's voluntary green pricing programs, which customers can choose to join to have part of their electricity matched with renewable energy. In the April 17, 2026 order, the Commission allowed Tilden Mining Company to join the case, turned the matter into a contested proceeding, and combined it with the company's upcoming amended renewable energy plan filing, rather than ruling on the proposed program changes. In the earlier December 21, 2023 order, the Commission approved continued use of the existing program tariffs with no changes. Neither order changes standard residential electric rates; participation in these programs is optional.
- U-22015notice PDF
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to sign off on its yearly accounting of Energy Waste Reduction program costs and revenues for 2025, including under-recovered amounts of $117,290 and $22,127 for its two electric rate zones and $33,395 for natural gas service, which it wants carried into next year's balances. A prehearing is set for May 14, 2026 by video/teleconference, and anyone may attend or send a written comment referencing Case No. U-22015. Those wanting to become a formal party must file a petition to intervene by May 7, 2026.
- U-22090notice PDF
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve its gas cost recovery plan and factors for November 2026 through October 2027, including a base gas cost recovery factor of $0.49882 per therm that would be adjusted monthly. A prehearing is set for September 15, 2026 by video or teleconference, and any interested person may take part. Customers can also send a written comment referencing Case No. U-22090 to the Commission by email or mail, or file a petition to intervene by September 8, 2026.
- U-22086notice PDF
UMERC, the electric utility in parts of the Upper Peninsula, has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve its plan for recovering power supply costs during 2027, including a PSCR base rate of $57.10 and a line loss factor of 1.0391 for its WEPCo and WPSC rate zones. A prehearing conference is set for November 10, 2026 at 9:00 AM by video/teleconference. Customers may attend to make a statement of position, send a written comment referencing Case No. U-22086 to the Commission, or request a free copy of the application from the company.
What changed your bill
- Requested$0.1MApproved$0.1M
The Commission approved a settlement between Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation and Commission Staff that closes out the utility's 2024 power supply cost recovery year. It found the company collected $112,835 less from customers than its actual power supply costs for the 12 months ending December 31, 2024, made up of $89,328 in the WEPCo rate zone and $23,507 in the WPSC rate zone. That shortfall will be carried forward as the starting balance in the company's 2025 power supply cost recovery reconciliation rather than billed separately now. The order does not itself set a new residential rate or state a monthly bill change.
- Requested$0.1MApproved$0.1M
The Commission approved a settlement between Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation and Commission Staff reviewing the company's 2025 power supply costs. The settlement found the company's power supply costs for the 12 months ending December 31, 2025, were reasonably and prudently incurred, and that the company collected $53,349 less from customers than it spent. That under-recovery amount will be carried forward as the starting balance for the company's 2026 power supply cost reconciliation rather than being billed or refunded now, so this order does not change residential rates by itself.
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.
This case was a complaint by an internet provider, Highline, against Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation about the cost and engineering standards for attaching internet lines to utility poles. The Commission ordered Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation to revise its internal pole attachment standards as proposed by Commission Staff and to expand its pole inspection program, and dismissed Highline's other claims. The order does not change electric rates, and it does not affect residential electric bills.
The Commission approved Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation's choice to have the state-appointed administrator, Efficiency United, run its energy waste reduction programs for 2026-2027, and approved the alternative compliance payment pricing portfolio filed as Exhibit S-1. The company must file tariff sheets within 30 days reflecting the related electric and gas energy waste reduction surcharges, and must file its next election application within six months. The order also directs that unspent energy waste reduction funds be used to reduce the alternative compliance payments for the 2028-2029 program years. The order does not state a dollar change to a typical residential monthly bill.
This case began as Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation's request to put in place a power supply cost recovery plan for the 12 months ending December 31, 2023, which the Commission resolved through a settlement approved in July 2023. The documents here are later orders approving amendments to that settlement, which change the deadlines for the company to file its next integrated resource plan, its amended renewable energy plan, and its voluntary green pricing program to no later than December 1, 2026. These orders also handled a request by Tilden Mining Company to join the case late, which was dismissed. No new rates or charges were set in these orders, so there is no stated change to a residential customer's monthly bill.
The Commission approved a settlement between Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation and Commission Staff that closes out the company's gas cost recovery for the 12 months ending October 31, 2025. The settlement finds the gas supply costs during that period were reasonably and prudently incurred, and that the company collected $82,910 more from gas customers than its actual gas costs. That over-collection will be carried forward as the starting balance in the company's 2025-2026 gas cost recovery reconciliation rather than refunded separately. The order does not set new base rates, so it does not itself change a residential customer's monthly bill.
The Commission approved a settlement agreement covering Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation's power supply cost recovery plan for the 12 months ending December 31, 2026. UMERC had applied for a base power supply cost recovery factor of $0.00630 per kWh; under the approved settlement the base factor is a credit of $0.00138 per kWh in both the WEPCo and WPSC rate zones, applied starting with the first billing month after approval through December 31, 2026. The power supply charge on residential bills is adjusted by this factor, which can also be revised monthly under the approved adjustment mechanism tied to natural gas price forecasts. UMERC must file tariff sheets reflecting the settlement within 30 days.
The Commission approved a settlement between Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation and Commission Staff in the utility's annual review of its state reliability mechanism capacity charge. The existing charge of $224,161 per megawatt-year, first approved in Case No. U-21541, stays in place until the utility's next general rate case order or its next annual state reliability mechanism review, whichever comes first. Because the charge is unchanged, this order does not by itself change residential bill amounts.
The Commission approved Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation's request to use deferred accounting for costs of owning and operating the Renegade Solar facility until those costs are reviewed for recovery in a later case. This decision is for accounting purposes only and does not set or change rates. Whether customers eventually pay any of these costs will be decided in a future contested proceeding, so there is no immediate change to residential bills.
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation asked the Commission to approve an amended renewable energy plan under Michigan's 2023 clean energy law, along with a proposed renewable energy surcharge to recover the plan's costs. On December 18, 2025, the Commission rejected the amended plan and ordered the company to file a new amended plan by October 15, 2026, alongside its integrated resource plan. On April 17, 2026, the Commission denied the company's request for rehearing and stated that the company may not recover Renegade Solar project costs through the power supply cost recovery mechanism without an approved amended plan, though it may seek recovery through other lawful means such as a general rate case. Because no plan or surcharge was approved, these orders do not change residential bills.
Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation asked to skip the Hosting Capacity Analysis section when it files its distribution system plan, which is due by January 30, 2026. The Commission granted that waiver for this one filing and encouraged the company to develop hosting capacity maps afterward. The order does not change rates or rate schedules, so residential bills are not affected.
The Commission approved a settlement agreement between Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation and Commission Staff covering the company's gas cost recovery plan for the 12 months ending October 31, 2026. The company may charge a base gas cost recovery factor of up to $0.58118 per therm, which can be adjusted monthly under a ceiling-price mechanism but cannot be forced below the base factor. The order also sets peak day backup demand charges of $0.62655 and $0.96089 per therm of demand per month and an annual supply backup commodity charge of $0.48916 per therm. Residential gas bills will reflect this gas cost factor for the billing months November 2025 through October 2026.
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. UMERC 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.