Traverse City Light & Power lays out budget, fiber expansion and energy transition milestones

Traverse City Light & Power (TCLP) presented the utility’s 2025–26 operating and capital plan to the Traverse City City Commission, detailing a phase‑2 fiber expansion, smart‑grid investments and steps to meet a new state energy‑optimization mandate.

TCLP Executive Director Brandy Ekrin and Chief Financial Officer Carla Myers Beeman told commissioners the utility expects modest sales growth in 2025–26 and is budgeting for higher purchased‑power costs driven in part by regional market pressure and the decommissioning of coal units. Carla Myers Beeman said the Campbelt coal plant will be decommissioned at the end of the month and that the utility is not replacing that generation 1-for-1.

Key actions and timelines: TCLP reported that core construction for phase‑2 fiber — the fiber network that will connect the remainder of the city — is expected to complete in late October 2025; service availability to customers will roll out by neighborhood as construction finishes and…