Michigan regulators on Thursday approved Consumers Energy’s plan to be one of the first utilities in the country no longer to burn coal by 2025, a move the energy company says still will offer reliability and save customers money.
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved the CMS Corp. subsidiary’s integrated resource plan, a 20-year blueprint illustrating how the company expects to meet the needs of its 1.8 million residential and business customers throughout the Lower Peninsula. The plan moves up the retirements of its coal plants by as much as 15 years and will save customers an estimated $600 million by 2040.
“This is a historic moment in Michigan’s clean energy transformation journey,” Consumers Energy CEO Garrick Rochow said in a statement. “The Clean Energy Plan is a sea change that positions our company as a national leader and empowers us to deliver reliable energy while protecting the planet for decades to come.”
