Michigan's automatic payout for a three-day power outage currently tops out at $88. Under a Senate Democratic proposal still sitting in committee, that same outage could be worth about $1,057 to the customer who sat through it. The gap between those two numbers is the center of a renewed fight over how much utilities should owe Michiganders when the lights go out.
The figures come from Axios, which reports that Michigan's automatic outage credit currently sits at $44 per day for customers who qualify under state rules, up from $42 per day as of September 10. State Sen. Stephanie Chang, a Detroit Democrat, has renewed the push for higher outage payments, according to the Axios report, which cites Michigan Public reporting on her effort. Chang told Michigan Public that power loss and food loss can be devastating for families who go days without electricity.
The legislation she and fellow Senate Democrats introduced on September 10, Senate Bills 1170 through 1175, would scrap the flat daily credit in favor of an hourly scale starting at $5 for the first hour of an outage and climbing to $25 per hour once an outage hits the 72-hour mark, according to BillTrack50. The bills would also bar utilities from passing those credit costs on to ratepayers through higher monthly bills, per the same tracking service. The package was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment after a summer of storm-driven blackouts across the state.
Renters and Repeat Outages Get New Protections
The Senate package reaches beyond single blackout events. As reported by WEMU-FM, it would create automatic annual credits of $100 for customers who experience four service interruptions within a 12-month span, rising to $200 for more than four outages in that window. It would also establish dedicated food and lodging reimbursements starting at $50 for renters whose utility costs run through their landlords, once those renters pass four hours without power — a gap current Michigan Public Service Commission rules do not address for tenants who lack a direct utility account, per WEMU-FM's reporting.
Under existing commission rules, automatic daily credits only kick in after 16 hours without power in normal weather, 48 hours during so-called gray sky conditions affecting 1% to 10% of a utility's customers, or a full 96 hours during catastrophic events hitting more than 10% of a utility's customer base, according to state outage-credit guidance. Lawmakers backing the Senate bills argue that 96-hour catastrophic threshold leaves residents absorbing days of spoiled food and other costs before any compensation arrives.
From Manual Claims to Automatic Payouts
Michigan's current $44-a-day rate is itself the product of a multi-year shift. Before 2023, customers had to manually apply for a one-time $25 payout after an extended blackout, but the Michigan Public Service Commission revised its rules that year to make credits automatic and tied to inflation, raising the daily rate to $35 in 2023, $40 in 2024, and $42 in October 2025, per the State of Michigan's own release on the change. That automation drove a sharp jump in payouts: utilities paid out $8.45 million in automatic outage credits in 2024, more than seven times the $1.21 million paid in 2022 under the old manual-claim system, according to CBS News.
The Michigan League of Conservation Voters supports the proposed legislation and confirmed the payment comparison calculations showing the difference between current and proposed payouts, per Axios. Those numbers illustrate the proposal's scale: a qualifying 72-hour outage generates $88 under today's rules but would generate roughly $1,057 under the proposed hourly system, Axios reports.
Utilities Point to Grid Investment, Critics Point to Restoration Times
Consumers Energy is reviewing the legislation, according to Axios. Katie Carey, a spokesperson for the utility, said reliability investments and restoring power safely and quickly remain top priorities, per the same Axios report. The Senate package has not advanced since its introduction and remains in committee as of September 2026, Axios notes.
Independent performance data has fueled lawmakers' urgency. The Citizens Utility Board of Michigan's 2025 Utility Performance Report found that Michigan utilities averaged 12 hours to restore power during non-major storm outages in 2023, giving the state the longest power restoration time in the nation and ranking its grid reliability among the worst of all Great Lakes states, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential. That restoration time was more than double neighboring states like Ohio and Indiana, the outlet reported.
Rate Hikes, a Ballot Measure, and a Regional Trend
The outage-credit debate is unfolding alongside rising bills and regulatory pressure on the state's two largest utilities. State regulators approved a $242.4 million rate increase for DTE Energy in February and a $276.6 million increase for Consumers Energy in March, while DTE has since filed for an additional $474.3 million hike, according to Planet Detroit. In August, the Michigan Public Service Commission recommended that lawmakers restrict utility rate-case filings to once every three years and tie penalties to grid performance, as Hoodline previously reported on rate fights. Michigan utilities more broadly face a wider push to change regulation following summer outages and climbing energy costs, per Axios.
Michigan voters will weigh in directly next month. A November 3 ballot measure, Proposal 2, would prohibit regulated electric and gas utilities, including DTE Energy and Consumers Energy, from making direct or indirect campaign contributions to state candidates or committees, according to Ballotpedia. The Michigan Legislature still has session days remaining in 2026 to act on the outage-credit bills before lawmakers turn to other priorities, Axios reports. Michigan is not alone in rethinking blackout compensation — Ohio lawmakers introduced legislation in September that would mandate daily $50 outage credits after 16 hours of power loss, part of a broader Midwest trend toward statutory financial penalties for slow utility response.
The Michigan Public Service Commission will hold a Detroit energy-affordability workshop at the Durfee Innovation Society on November 17, giving residents a chance to weigh in on utility costs and get help with their bills, according to Axios. The session arrives as lawmakers, regulators, and ratepayers continue sorting out how much a blackout should actually cost the companies responsible for ending it.
