Michigan utility’s long-term energy plan in jeopardy over power contracts

Energy News Network: Three months after unveiling a widely celebrated plan to phase out coal and add solar capacity, Consumers Energy is warning stakeholders that it may need to go back to the drawing board if Michigan regulators won’t let it pay a lower rate to independent power producers.

Consumers Energy filed its long-term integrated resource plan (IRP) with state regulators in June. It calls for a major shift from coal to solar by 2040 but also assumes concessions from renewable developers and others who sell power to the company under the federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA).

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