Contact: Emily Halvorson
Michigan families want and deserve affordable, reliable energy—but House Republicans have other plans. Utility bills are rising across the country as fuel prices fluctuate amid inflation, aging infrastructure, and electricity demand surges from data centers and other major users. But Michigan’s 2023 energy legislation puts a strong plan in place to help protect customers from those pressures by expanding energy supply, cutting energy waste, and strengthening oversight of utilities’ investment decisions.
House Republicans’ “Project Lighthouse” would repeal all of it. Their rollback agenda would eliminate the very policies projected to deliver major electricity bill relief, hand the advantage back to fossil fuel interests, and stick ratepayers with the bill. We need more energy, not less—and repealing these laws would move Michigan in the wrong direction.
Ahead of today’s hearing, we looked at what the facts actually show about their claims.
Rising Energy Costs Are a National Issue—Not a Michigan Policy Problem
Rising energy costs are happening nationwide and are largely driven by fuel price volatility, aging infrastructure, tariffs, and rising utility spending—not Michigan-specific policies. Clean energy resources also avoid fuel costs entirely, helping stabilize electricity prices over time rather than exposing customers to the volatile swings of fossil fuel markets. Independent analysis shows Michigan’s 2023 energy policies are expected to save households hundreds of dollars per year as cheaper energy resources and efficiency improvements come online. Republicans are pointing fingers at the wrong culprit—and their proposed “solution” would only make things worse.
Repealing These Laws Means Higher Bills, Full Stop
Michigan’s 2023 energy legislation is working and builds on preexisting policies like the Energy Waste Reduction program that have already saved families billions. Since 2009, energy efficiency programs have saved Michigan customers nearly $6 billion in electric costs and close to $2 billion in natural gas costs. For every dollar spent on energy efficiency programs, customers will save around $4 in avoided energy expenses. Those savings will only multiply as cheaper energy resources and efficiency improvements come online—savings that “Project Lighthouse” would eliminate.
House Republicans Are Pushing More Coal—Even When Regulators Confirm It’s Not Needed
The Michigan PSC already determined that Consumers Energy’s J.H. Campbell coal plant was not needed for grid reliability. A Trump administration order ignored that finding and forced the plant to stay open anyway. The cost? At least $135 million in added expenses—roughly $615,000 per day—charged directly to ratepayers for a plant Michigan does not need.
This is what the Republican repeal agenda looks like in practice: override independent experts, prop up aging coal plants, and send the bill to Michigan families.
The “New Gas Plants” Argument Doesn’t Hold Up
New gas plants typically take at a minimum three to five years—and often longer—to permit and build. Once constructed, they lock customers into decades of volatile fuel costs, and ratepayers remain on the hook even if those plants become underused or uneconomic. And when it comes to cost, Michigan’s own utilities confirm the problem: DTE Energy projects that renewable energy will cost nearly $1.5 billion less than comparable gas plants by 2045. Analysis from Consumers Energy shows a similar $180 million advantage for renewables over the next two decades. For a package claiming to address affordability, House Republicans pushing for the slower, more expensive option is a hard case to make to Michigan families. Michigan’s energy laws instead accelerate the ability to get faster, lower-cost resources online.
“Project Lighthouse” Weakens the Oversight That Protects Ratepayers
Michigan’s 2023 energy laws gave the Michigan PSC stronger authority to review utility planning decisions and help ensure investments are cost-effective for customers. “Project Lighthouse” would change the laws back to a time with less oversight—leaving utilities with less accountability and ratepayers with less protection against unnecessary spending that drives up electricity bills.
The Stakes for Michigan Ratepayers
Michigan families are already stretched thin by rising costs, and the 2023 energy laws were designed specifically to address just that—cutting waste, expanding affordable energy, and keeping utilities in check to save customers billions. Repealing them isn’t an energy policy. It’s a handout to fossil fuel interests, paid for personally by Michigan ratepayers.