utilities

The Wexford County Joint Planning Commission will consider a zoning amendment next month that would allow the company Ranger Power to submit a plan for a nearly 1,500-acre solar array.

The region lacks some of the infrastructure that developers look for, but experts said that doesn’t mean local leaders shouldn’t prepare. IPR digs into zoning, utilities, power grids and more.

Some Michigan House Democrats are adding onto a plan they’re calling a "Ratepayer Bill of Rights."

Some utilities are taking that step as a response to 2025's devastating ice storm, which knocked out power to northern Michigan for weeks in some places. But it's costly.

DTE Energy customers will pay a little more than 4.5% percent more for electricity, beginning in March. The Michigan Public Service Commission is defending the rate hike in part due to the utility's recent improvements in reliability.

Regulated utilities including Consumers Energy and DTE Energy will have to issues notices after March 2026 about how much their rate increase requests would cost each customer.

We can't go through a week "Rethinking Home" without talking about the ice storm and the grid.

With more ice storms expected in the decades ahead as the climate changes, utilities are trying to figure out how to be ready for the next ice storm.

A new aid fund is starting up in Benzonia. The idea comes from a fund in Empire that pays bills for community members facing financial emergencies.

Supporters of the policy say it sends a clear signal that Traverse City is serious about developing a green economy in northern Michigan.