Choice state: you can pick a supplierMichigan Electricity Rates
Rate data for Michigan is being refreshed. The regulator and market facts below are current; figures return with the next data load.
Can you choose your electricity supplier in Michigan?
Yes. Michigan opened its retail electricity market in 2000 under Michigan Energy Choice, so you can buy the supply portion of your bill from a competitive supplier while your utility keeps delivering the power and handling outages.
ElectricRates.org does not yet list Michigan plans. We add states as our enrollment partner brings their utilities online; you can compare and switch today in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington DC.
Rates and rules are overseen by the Michigan Public Service Commission. Major utilities: DTE Energy, Consumers Energy. Grid operator: MISO (Lower Peninsula) and PJM (parts of southwest Michigan).
Get notified when Michigan plans go live
One email when you can compare and switch here. Nothing else.
Notify meMichigan is technically a 'choice' state, but the 10% cap on electric choice is full with thousands of customers in a queue, so a mover cannot shop for a residential supplier, and the two largest utilities' standard residential rates are time-of-day (Consumers Energy's non-optional Summer Rate and DTE's Time of Day 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. standard base rate).
Who will deliver your power in Michigan
The utility is fixed by your address. These are the largest in the state, with what each says it needs from a new customer.
DTE Energy (DTE Electric)investor-owned
Southeastern Michigan; the Detroit-based company describes DTE Electric as the largest electric utility in Michigan. About 2.3 million electric customers (per DTE).
DTE's Resource Guide says to start, stop or transfer service online at dteenergy.com/service or by calling 800.477.4747. A deposit can be required only for listed reasons (unpaid utility bill within six years, no positive identification, returned payment within 12 months, service at an address other than your own residence, bankruptcy within six years); seniors with an acceptable three-year payment history, applicants whose bills MDHHS is paying, and applicants with a sponsor in good standing are exempt.
Start service with DTE Energy →Sources: dteenergy.com, dteenergy.com, startstop.dteenergy.com
Consumers Energyinvestor-owned
Homes and businesses throughout Michigan's Lower Peninsula; the company lists 62 counties served (electric figures as of December 2021). About 1.9 million electric customers, about 1.6 million of them residential (per Consumers Energy, as of December 2021).
You can schedule a start, stop or transfer up to 30 days before your move date; have your Social Security number and a valid driver's license or Michigan-issued photo ID ready, and allow two to five business days for document review. A security deposit may be required based on payment or service history (for example past-due charges at any utility in the last six years or a returned payment in the last 12 months); deposits are sized on the last 12 months of energy use, earn 5% annual interest, and come back as a bill credit after 12 months of satisfactory payments. First bill usually arrives within 30 days; customer service is 800-477-5050, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Start service with Consumers Energy →Sources: consumersenergy.com, consumersenergy.com
Indiana Michigan Power (I&M, an AEP company)investor-owned
The AEP service territory in Indiana and Michigan (30 counties and 164 cities across both states), headquartered in Fort Wayne with an external affairs office in Lansing. About 582,000 customers in Indiana and Michigan combined (per I&M's Michigan customer handbook, which is marked 'Revised 01/2011').
I&M's Michigan handbook asks you to contact them as early as possible about service for a new home; you can transfer or start service by phone (customer service 1-800-311-6424, Solutions Center open 24 hours) or online under Your Account. A deposit may be required before or after service begins, capped at two times the average monthly bill for the residence or two times the company's average residential bill, earns MPSC-set interest, and is refunded as a bill credit after 12 consecutive on-time payments.
Start service with Indiana Michigan Power →Sources: indianamichiganpower.com, indianamichiganpower.com, indianamichiganpower.com
Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL)municipal
The greater Lansing area; a municipally-owned utility governed by commissioners appointed by the Lansing mayor. About 100,000 electric customers (per BWL).
To start service BWL asks for full legal name, full Social Security number, driver's license number, date of birth, phone, email, mailing address, and a copy of the lease or the full service address; an applicant without an SSN must bring a passport and lease to the lobby at 1232 Haco Dr., Lansing. Call Center is 517-702-6006, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed weekends and holidays.
Start service with Lansing Board of Water & Light →Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO)investor-owned
Rural, heavily forested parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula; UPPCO has announced its intent to buy Xcel Energy's U.P. electric operations in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties. About 52,000 customers across the Upper Peninsula (per UPPCO).
New customers can request service online through UPPCO's Request Service form or call Residential Customer Service at (906) 449-2013; the page does not state a lead time, ID list, or deposit rule.
Start service with Upper Peninsula Power Company →Deposits, ID, and supplier choice in Michigan
Deposits. Under MPSC rule R 460.109 a regulated utility may require a residential deposit only for listed reasons, such as an unpaid electric or gas balance that accrued within the last six years and is not in dispute, failure to provide positive identification when applying, requesting service for a location where you do not live, unauthorized use within six years, a returned or denied payment, or bankruptcy relief within six years. Under R 460.111 a deposit tied to a prior unpaid balance or nonpayment shutoff cannot exceed twice the average monthly bill for the premises (or twice the utility's system average monthly bill if no history exists), and a heating-season deposit after a nonpayment shutoff in the past 12 months cannot exceed the utility's system average monthly bill. (law.cornell.edu)
Choosing a supplier. Michigan's Electric Customer Choice program lets customers buy supply from a licensed alternative electric supplier, but state law caps participation at 10% of each utility's average weather-adjusted retail sales and puts everyone else in a queue; the MPSC says no licensed supplier is currently marketing or enrolling residential customers, and at the end of 2025 about 5,101 customers remained in the queue (https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/consumer/electricity/choice).
Residential customers in Michigan buy their electricity from their local utility (the MPSC says business customers who do not shop stay with their utility under its existing regulated rates); the choice program's 5,517 participants in 2025 were nearly all commercial or industrial. The MPSC customer assistance line is 800-292-9555.
Sources: law.cornell.edu, law.cornell.edu, michigan.gov, michigan.gov, michigan.gov
Help paying an electric bill in Michigan
State Emergency Relief (SER) energy services, Michigan's LIHEAP crisis program
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS)
Low-income households meeting all SER requirements with a demonstrated immediate need such as a past-due bill or shutoff notice; SER is funded through federal LIHEAP, is available all year, and is applied for at MI Bridges or a local MDHHS office. MDHHS issues one payment for heat and one for non-heat electricity per fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), with heating-fuel maximums of $450 to $850 depending on fuel type; the SER manual requires some form of assistance within 18 hours of a crisis application.
Sources: michigan.gov, mdhhs-pres-prod.michigan.gov, michigan.gov
Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP)
Michigan Public Service Commission, delivered through grantee agencies (reach one by calling 2-1-1)
Eligible low-income households needing help with electricity, natural gas, propane, heating oil or other heating fuel for their primary residence; since October 1, 2025 the income ceiling is 60% of state median income (the MPSC's example: $61,861 for a family of four), and an SER energy payment automatically qualifies a household for MEAP services. MEAP is funded by a per-meter charge on electric bills ($1.50 per meter per month from the September 2026 billing month); customers of small utilities that opted out are not covered.
Sources: michigan.gov, michigan.gov, michigan.gov
Home Heating Credit (form MI-1040CR-7)
Michigan Department of Treasury
Low-income Michigan homeowners and renters whose total household resources fall within Treasury's Table A/B limits; you do not need to file a Michigan income tax return to claim it, applications open mid-to-late January, and the filing deadline is September 30 (September 30, 2026 for the current claim). If you pay your own heat the credit is issued as a State of Michigan Energy Draft usable only for heat bills, and DTE, Consumers Energy and SEMCO customers may have it sent straight to their account.
Sources: michigan.gov, michigan.gov
Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)
MDHHS Bureau of Community Action and Economic Opportunity, through local Community Action Agencies (weatherization operators)
Low-income Michigan homeowners and renters with household income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; households receiving MDHHS cash assistance or SSI automatically qualify. Services are free and MDHHS says they can cut heating costs 20-25 percent; contact your local weatherization operator to apply.
Sources: michigan.gov, michigan.gov, energy.gov
Winter Protection Plan and other shutoff protections
Your electric utility, under MPSC rules (apply through the utility)
Seniors and low-income customers of MPSC-regulated electric and gas utilities get relief from shutoff and high payments during the heating season, November 1 to March 31; Lansing BWL states that seniors 65 and older and low-income customers on a winter protection plan are protected from electric shutoff in the heating season. The MPSC also notes medical-emergency, critical-care and active-duty military shutoff protections, and says customers behind on bills can apply for past-due help from November 1 if income is below 150% of the poverty level.
Sources: michigan.gov, lbwl.com, michigan.gov
LIHEAP (federal program that funds SER energy services)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families; in Michigan the funds flow through MDHHS
Federally funded assistance to reduce home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization and minor energy-related home repairs for eligible low-income households; MDHHS says SER energy services are funded through LIHEAP.
Sources: acf.hhs.gov, michigan.gov, mdhhs-pres-prod.michigan.gov
Michigan 211 (statewide referral line)
Anyone; the MPSC and MDHHS both direct people to call 2-1-1 or visit mi211.org for a referral to the MEAP grantee or other energy-assistance agency serving their county.
Sources: mi211.org, michigan.gov, michigan.gov
Programs that change what you pay
- Rooftop solar (net metering)limited
- Michigan runs an MPSC 'distributed generation' program for customer solar and wind (the MPSC reports on it alongside 'legacy net metering'); Public Act 235 of 2023 raised eligible project size to 550 kW and lets a customer build up to 110% of their prior 12-month consumption, and every project must be interconnected with the utility first.
Source: michigan.gov
- Time-of-use ratesavailable
- Consumers Energy's Summer Rate is the standard, non-optional rate for every residential (rate 1001) customer: $0.245/kWh on weekdays 2-7 p.m. from June 1 to September 30, lower-priced low-demand hours the rest of the summer, and a flat $0.176/kWh October to May (before PSCR, surcharges and taxes). DTE's Time of Day 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. rate, which DTE says was designed with the State of Michigan and which its own sample residential bill is on, prices weekday 3-7 p.m. higher and gives the off-peak rate for the other 20 weekday hours and all weekend.
Sources: consumersenergy.com, solutions.dteenergy.com, dteenergy.com
Questions people ask before moving to Michigan
How far ahead should I set up electricity before moving to Michigan?
Consumers Energy lets you schedule a start up to 30 days before your move date and says document review can take two to five business days, so set it up as soon as you have a move date; DTE handles starts online at dteenergy.com/service, and Indiana Michigan Power asks you to contact them as early as possible. Have your Social Security number and a driver's license or state ID ready, since Consumers Energy and Lansing BWL both ask for them.
Sources: consumersenergy.com, dteenergy.com, indianamichiganpower.com, lbwl.com
Can I pick my own electricity supplier in Michigan?
In practice, no: Michigan's Electric Customer Choice program is capped at 10% of each utility's sales, the cap is fully subscribed, and the MPSC says no licensed alternative supplier is currently marketing or enrolling residential customers. About 5,101 customers were still waiting in the queue at the end of 2025, and nearly all participants are businesses.
Sources: michigan.gov, michigan.gov
Will I have to pay a deposit to start electric service?
Not automatically: MPSC rules only let a utility ask for a residential deposit for specific reasons such as an undisputed unpaid utility balance from the last six years, not providing positive identification, or requesting service for a place you do not live, and a deposit tied to a prior unpaid balance or a nonpayment shutoff is capped at twice the average monthly bill. Consumers Energy pays 5% annual interest and returns the deposit as a bill credit after 12 months of satisfactory payments; I&M refunds after 12 consecutive on-time payments.
Sources: law.cornell.edu, law.cornell.edu, consumersenergy.com, indianamichiganpower.com
Why does my Michigan electric bill cost more at certain hours?
Because both big utilities' standard residential rates are time-of-day: Consumers Energy says its Summer Rate is not optional and needs no sign-up, charging $0.245/kWh on weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m. between June 1 and September 30 and a flat $0.176/kWh the rest of the year, and DTE calls its Time of Day 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. rate its standard base rate, charging more on weekday afternoons with the lower off-peak rate the other 20 weekday hours and all weekend. Shifting laundry, dishwashing and air conditioning outside those windows can lower the bill.
Sources: consumersenergy.com, solutions.dteenergy.com
What help is there if I cannot afford my electric bill in Michigan?
Apply at MI Bridges for State Emergency Relief (one heat and one non-heat electric payment per fiscal year), call 2-1-1 for a Michigan Energy Assistance Program grantee (income up to 60% of state median, about $61,861 for a family of four), and file the Home Heating Credit claim MI-1040CR-7 with Treasury by September 30 even if you do not file a state tax return. Seniors and low-income customers can also ask their utility for the Winter Protection Plan, which guards against shutoff from November 1 to March 31.
Sources: michigan.gov, michigan.gov, michigan.gov, michigan.gov
Researched 2026-10-15 from utility, regulator, and agency pages; every statement links to where it was read. Rules change: confirm deposits and program dates with the utility or agency before you rely on them.
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