Consumers Energy President: Mild Winter, Customer Conservation Helping to Ease Heating Bill Burden
January 25 2006 - 12:06PM
PR Newswire (US)
JACKSON, Mich., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Conservation by
customers and mild weather are offsetting high natural gas prices
and helping to hold down the increase in winter heating bills, a
top Consumers Energy executive told a legislative panel today. The
utility projected last fall that a typical residential customer
would see an average bill increase of $40 to $50 per month this
winter. Consumers Energy now projects the average bill increase
will be about half that -- roughly $25 per month -- for the
five-month heating season, which runs from Nov. 1 to March 31. John
Russell, the president and chief operating officer of Consumers
Energy, said the updated projection shouldn't reduce the focus on
conservation and providing assistance to customers in need. "High
natural gas prices are here for the long term and we need to work
together to help customers deal with higher bills. The best way for
customers to deal with today's high natural gas prices is to
conserve energy and call us if they're going to have trouble paying
their bill," Russell said in testimony prepared for the House
Energy and Technology Committee. In November, Consumers Energy
launched its Energy Answers campaign to provide customers with
information about gas pricing, energy conservation, and the
assistance programs for customers who need help paying their energy
bills. That campaign includes an Energy Answers section on the
utility's website, http://www.consumersenergy.com/ . Russell
pointed out that more assistance dollars are on the way for low-
income customers. The Michigan Public Service Commission allocated
$27 million for aid last month in a Consumers Energy electric rate
case order. Consumers Energy has seen a sharp increase in the
number of customers enrolled in the Winter Protection Plan, which
provides shutoff protection for low-income and senior citizen
customers. Last December, about 57,000 customers were enrolled in
the plan, compared to 41,000 in December 2004. Russell said the
utility's Budget Plan offers other customers another tool to manage
their winter heating costs. Under the Budget Plan, a customer's
estimated annual energy bill is divided into equal monthly
payments. "With our Budget Plan, customers pay a certain amount
each month for their energy bill. That allows them to 'average out'
their bills and avoid big bills during the winter," he said.
Customers will be able to enroll in the 2006-07 Budget Plan
starting in the spring. Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary
of CMS Energy, provides natural gas and electricity to more than
six million of Michigan's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower
Peninsula counties. For more information about Consumers Energy,
visit our Website at http://www.consumersenergy.com/ First Call
Analyst: FCMN Contact: DATASOURCE: Consumers Energy CONTACT: Media
Contacts: Jeff Holyfield, +1-517-788-2394, or Dan Bishop,
+1-517-788-2395, both of Consumers Energy Web site:
http://www.consumersenergy.com/ Company News On-Call:
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