Public utilities: consumer services; prohibition for an electric utility to reclaim revenue they were required to pay in service outage credits; provide for. Amends sec. 6a of 1939 PA 3 (MCL 460.6a).
Key claim: This Senate bill would stop electric utilities from recovering through customer rates the money they already paid out as credits for service outages.
Abstract
(SB1173 · 103rd Legislature) Public utilities: consumer services; prohibition for an electric utility to reclaim revenue they were required to pay in service outage credits; provide for. Amends sec. 6a of 1939 PA 3 (MCL 460.6a). Sponsor: Sen. Sue Shink (D) + 3 co-sponsors In committee: S Energy And Environment Latest action (2026-09-10): Referred To Committee On Energy And Environment
Why this matters
Michigan’s outage-credit regime only benefits ratepayers if utilities cannot turn around and recoup those payouts in the next rate case. This bill would close that loop by prohibiting cost recovery of outage-credit payments, complementing separate bills (SB 1170/1171) that define who qualifies for the credits in the first place. It remains an introduced, committee-referred proposal with no hearings yet.