Consumers Energy outlines 20-year renewable subscription for City of Jackson; councilors ask pricing and timing questions

Representatives from Consumers Energy described a 20-year renewable energy subscription that would let the City of Jackson match some or all municipal electricity use with new Michigan wind and solar projects and begin service in 2028.

The presentation, delivered by Ryan Bullinger, senior energy solutions manager at Consumers Energy, said the program requires no upfront capital from the city, no on-site construction and that participants would receive energy and capacity credits once projects are operational. Bullinger said the company’s proposal forecasts a net savings of “just over $900,000” over 20 years for the city under the scenario shown to council. He also described a fixed subscription price of 0.064 per kilowatt-hour that he said covers construction, maintenance and decommissioning of the projects.

Bullinger said the city’s current annual electricity consumption is about 13,000,000 kilowatt-hours and described the program as “local,” “turnkey” and flexible — participants designate which accounts to enroll and can change subscriptions month to month.

The city’s questions focused on how the subscription and credits work, what price forecasts underlie the savings projection, and the availability of remaining solar capacity at the quoted price. Bullinger and a Consumers representative, Carol Lee McKinsey, said the forecasted energy and capacity credits are based on market projections from commercial data providers (they named Argus and IHS) and a conservative blend of those forecasts. McKinsey said the energy produced by enrolled capacity would be sold into the MISO market and that “your capacity credit stays the same” while the energy price is what fluctuates and is expected to rise.

Councilors pressed for clarity on the subscription math. Bullinger explained the subscription cost is the city’s subscribed kilowatt-hour amount multiplied by the fixed $0.064-per-kWh subscription fee; energy and capacity credits are then deducted to produce a monthly net charge or credit. Bullinger and McKinsey said the program typically shows a small premium in early years and turns to net savings later in the contract period in their conservative forecasts.

Bullinger listed other participating customers, including the state of Michigan, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Michigan State University, Walmart and several local businesses. He emphasized enrollment is handled on a first-come, first-served basis and said one solar facility at the $0.064 price remained available in Consumers’ pipeline.

Council members and staff asked for follow-up materials. McKinsey offered to provide more detail on the Argus and IHS forecasts, the locations of Consumers’ wind and solar parks, and to arrange conversations with municipalities already in the program.

No vote or formal action was taken; the item was a presentation and question-and-answer session.