This article was produced for ProPublica'due south Local Reporting Network in partnership with Outlier Media. Sign up for Dispatches to go stories like this one as presently every bit they are published.

Michigan has some of the highest electricity rates in the nation. In fact, simply 10 states accept rates that are more expensive, based on federal data from 2021. Hither'south what Michigan residents need to know if you find yourself facing a shut-off considering you can't afford your neb.

What are my rights?

  • Your utility must mail service a shut-off notice at to the lowest degree ten days before turning off your power for nonpayment. Information technology must as well try to contact you by telephone the day before the shut-off.
  • You can sign up for a payment plan with your utility.
  • You tin can delay a close-off for up to iii weeks if yous or someone in your home has a serious medical status and you submit a signed form from your doctor, like this one for DTE Energy or this i for Consumers Energy.
  • If you are 65 or older, your power cannot be shut off betwixt Nov. ane and March 31. (DTE provides the same protections for people 62 or older.)
  • Your electricity cannot exist shut off when utility workers are non available to turn your power dorsum on that day or the adjacent.
  • Your utility cannot shut off your ability in extreme weather. Consumers Energy suspends or cancels shut-offs when temperatures are to a higher place ninety degrees or below 15 degrees or when the windchill is below 0 degrees. DTE will not close off power when forecasts dip to 15 degrees, windchill is beneath zero for at to the lowest degree 2 days in a row or temperatures are at least 90 degrees for at least two days in a row.

I believe my utility company violated my rights. What tin I practise?

You lot tin file an breezy complaint online with the Michigan Public Service Commission.

  • You lot can also call 800-292-9555 Monday to Friday, viii:30 a.yard. to four:30 p.m., except holidays.
  • You tin can also mail service your complaint to: MPSC Customer Assistance, P.O. Box 30221, Lansing, MI 48909.

Your utility company must delay whatsoever shut-offs while the MPSC investigates an breezy complaint. You tin can expect to receive a response from the MPSC to your informal complaint within 10 business days.

You can also file a split up formal complaint and enquire for an authoritative law gauge to hear your case. To file a formal complaint, you lot must submit three copies of your written complaint with a detailed clarification of what happened, what rules yous believe the visitor broke, all documents and show you want to employ at the hearing and what you lot are seeking from the utility. While y'all look your hearing, your utility must filibuster shut-offs.

I need help finding resource to pay my electrical bill in Detroit. Whom tin I contact?

Call 211 for resource to help you pay your utility bill. Or yous can text DETROIT to 67485 for an automated listing of current resources compiled by Outlier Media. You can also utilise the Outlier texting platform to talk to a reporter. (Message and data rates may apply; you will receive no more than 4 messages per calendar month. Reply HELP for help or STOP to cancel at whatsoever time. Read the privacy policy and terms.)

An energy provider based in Detroit shut off 80,606 electric accounts last year, fifty-fifty during the hottest and coldest months of the pandemic. Without electricity, people suffer. If you're a client of a Detroit-expanse electric provider, we want to hear from you.

Expand