Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules

611 W. Ottawa Street

Lansing, MI 48909

Phone: 517-335-8658 Fax: 517-335-9512

AGENCY REPORT TO THE

JOINT COMMITEE ON ADMNINISTRATIVE RULES (JCAR)

1. Agency Information

Agency name:

Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

Division/Bureau/Office:

Public Service Commission

Name of person completing this form:

Jana Bachman

Phone number of person completing this form:

517-284-8088

E-mail of person completing this form:

BachmanJ2@michigan.gov

Name of Department Regulatory Affairs Officer reviewing this form:

Elizabeth Arasim

2. Rule Set Information

MOAHR assigned rule set number:

2021-3 LR

Title of proposed rule set:

Consumer Standards and Billing Practices for Electric and Natural Gas Service

3. Purpose for the proposed rules and background:

The general purpose of the Consumer Standards and Billing Practices for Electric and Natural Gas

Service (Billing Rules) is to provide a regulatory framework with which utilities must comply and

that customers may refer to if they are dissatisfied with a utility's actions or wish to learn what their

rights are and/or a utility's responsibilities are.

4. Summary of proposed rules:

The general purpose of the Consumer Standards and Billing Practices for Electric and Natural Gas

Service (Billing Rules) is to provide a regulatory framework with which utilities must comply and

that customers may refer to if they are dissatisfied with a utility’s actions or wish to learn what their

rights are and/or a utility’s responsibilities are.

5. List names of newspapers in which the notice of public hearing was published and

publication dates:

The notices of public hearing were published on November 23, 2021 in the Mining Journal, the

Grand Rapids Press, and The Oakland Press.

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 2

6. Date of publication of rules and notice of public hearing in Michigan Register:

11/15/2021

7. Date, time, and location of public hearing:

12/9/2021 11:00 AM at Lake Michigan Hearing Room , MPSC 7109 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing MI

48917; or WebLink: https://bit.ly/318x7uZ; or audio only +1 248-509-0316, US Phone Conference

ID: 269 161 043#

8. Provide the link the agency used to post the regulatory impact statement and cost-benefit

analysis on its website:

https://ARS.apps.lara.state.mi.us/Transaction/RFRTransaction?TransactionID=1261

9. List of the name and title of agency representative(s) attending public hearing:

Assistant Attorney General Mike Orris represented the Commission Staff at the public hearing.

Commission Staff member Chris Forist and Commission Staff Attorney Jana Bachman attended the

public hearing.

10. Persons submitting comments of support:

Assistant Attorney General Michael E. Moody submitted comments during the open public comment

period on behalf of Attorney General Dana Nessel. Daniel Dundas of the Michigan Electric and Gas

Association submitted comments during the open public comment period on behalf of the Citizens’

Utility Board of Michigan.

11. Persons submitting comments of opposition:

No person submitted comments of opposition.

12. Persons submitting other comments:

Comments were submitted after the close of the public comment period by Amy Bandyk on behalf of

the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan and by Assistant Attorney General Michael E. Moody on

behalf of Attorney General Dana Nessel. The comments were in support of the rules but suggested

some minor additional wording changes.

13. Identify any changes made to the proposed rules based on comments received during the

public comment period:

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 3

Name &

Organization public hearing

Comments made at Written

Agency Rationale Rule number

for Rule Change & citation

and Description changed

of Change(s)

Comments

Made

1

Michael E.

Moody

The Attorney

General

The Commission The Attorney

agrees with the

General

Michigan

Department of

Attorney

Comment/Recom Attorney General comments

mendation: The that the suggested indicated a

proposed service wording for R

change to: R

General

quality and

reliability

standards

460.151(2)(b) was 460.151(2)

inadvertently

(b).

omitted from the

removed subpart proposed rules

(a), (b) and (c)

from Rule

and, accordingly,

added the wording

460.724 with the suggested by the

intent to transfer Attorney General

those standards to to R 460.151(2)

the consumer

standards and

billing practices

Rule 460.151. It

appears that R

460.724 (c) was

inadvertently not

transferred.

(b).

Therefore, the

Attorney General

recommends that

this standard be

added to R

460.151(2)(b) to

read as follows:

“An electric

utility shall have

a complaint

response factor of

90% or more

within 3 business

days.”

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 4

2

Daniel Dundas

of the Michigan

Electric and

In its comments, The Commission MEGA

MEGA proposes agrees with

the following MEGA that its

comments

indicated a

Gas Association

submitted

comments on

behalf of the

Utility Joint

wording for Mich proposed wording change to

Admin Code, R for R 460.143(5) R 460.143(5).

460.143(5) (Rule provides adequate

43(5)): After the protection for

utility shuts off

service, no later customers but is

than the fifth less burdensome

business day after to regulated

regulated utility

Commenters

service was

utilities than the

disconnected the wording proposed

utility will send by the

notice to the

Commission.

customers that

Accordingly, the

remain shut off. Commission

The utility must adopted a slightly

notify the

customer via

automated or

modified version

of MEGA’s

suggested wording

manual telephone to R 460.143(5).

call, electronic

mail, text

It should be noted

that this

message, or U.S. notification rule is

Mail. The notice in addition to other

must state that

service has been notifications to be

shut off, the provided to

utility’s contact customers by

required

information

where the

customer may

regulated utilities

in advance of a

proposed shutoff

arrange to have of service. The

service restored, rules that provide

and that any

efforts by the

customer to

for the other

notices are not

being amended in

restore his or her this rulemaking.

own service are

unlawful and

dangerous.

14.Date report completed:

3/30/2022

MCL 24.242 and 24.245