Governor Gretchen Whitmer Signs Landmark Grid Reliability Act Mandating Automatic Utility Outage Credits

LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Public Act 112 into law on Monday, enacting comprehensive regulatory reforms that significantly increase accountability for Michigan's regulated electric utilities and establish automatic customer compensation for severe weather power outages.

The legislation, passed with bipartisan majorities in the Michigan House and Senate, directs the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to enforce mandatory five-year distribution hardening schedules for major utilities, including DTE Energy and Consumers Energy.

Automatic Outage Credits and Service Guarantees Under the new statutory framework, residential and small business customers who experience service interruptions exceeding 24 hours during non-catastrophic weather events—or 48 hours during catastrophic declared states of emergency—will receive automatic statement credits of $50 per day, without requiring manual claims or paperwork.

"Every Michigander deserves access to reliable, affordable power," Governor Whitmer said during the signing ceremony in Lansing. "When severe storms hit, families shouldn't have to throw out hundreds of dollars in spoiled groceries and then fight their utility company for reimbursement. This law puts consumers first and requires power companies to invest their revenues directly into storm-hardening our electrical infrastructure."

Infrastructure Hardening and Tree-Trimming Mandates Public Act 112 also mandates:

• Intensive Tree-Trimming Cycles: Utilities must maintain strict 4-year vegetation clearance cycles across all high-voltage distribution lines.
• Grid Automation and Self-Healing Loops: Requiring smart reclosers and automated sectionalizing switches to isolate equipment faults within seconds.
• Undergrounding Pilot Programs: Designating $85 million in matched state and private capital to underground critical neighborhood circuits prone to repeated winter ice-storm failures.

Consumer advocacy organizations across Metro Detroit hailed the law as a vital step in bridging the gap between rising electricity rates and necessary service reliability standards.