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Commission hears Consumers Energy subscription proposal; majority express interest in 100% participation
Summary
Sustainability staff briefed the commission on Consumers Energy's municipal renewable subscription program (1 million kWh minimum; quoted price about $0.064/kWh), modeling 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year scenarios and account-level options; commissioners expressed broad interest and asked staff for a cost comparison including laddered contract options.
Sustainability Coordinator Mason Squilici Peterson presented a Consumers Energy renewable subscription program to the Mount Pleasant City Commission on June 22, explaining how the utility's offsite solar and wind facilities can supply municipal accounts on a subscription basis.
Mason told the commission the city used roughly 4.1 million kilowatt-hours across eligible accounts in the last 12 months and that program rules require a 1 million kWh minimum subscription. Mason said the vendor's current quoted price was about $0.064 per kilowatt-hour, subject to change until a contract is signed, and that the program currently has about 20 megawatts of capacity remaining for new subscribers. The program's earliest deliveries were projected to begin in 2028.
Mason presented modeled financial scenarios showing net premiums in early years and projected cumulative savings in later years under longer contract terms; a 20-year subscription was projected to deliver net credits over the contract horizon in the modeling cited at the meeting. He presented several enrollment options: subscribe at 100% of city usage; subscribe only the wastewater facility (the city's largest single account); subscribe the top five energy users; or combine account-level subscriptions to meet the 1 million kWh minimum.
Commissioners spoke in favor of renewable energy and several said they would prefer a 100% participation goal. Commissioners asked for comparative figures and a laddered approach that staggers contract durations (e.g., portions at 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year terms) to reduce risk while advancing renewable goals. Manager Sans and staff agreed to prepare comparisons of the options, including the laddered scenario, and to return with more detailed numbers for a future meeting.
Why it matters: the subscription offers an immediate path to reduce the city's scope-two greenhouse-gas emissions without constructing and maintaining a local solar installation, but it also creates long-term contractual commitments and near-term premiums under some modeled scenarios.
What happens next: staff will prepare detailed cost comparisons, including a laddered contract option and account-level scenarios, for the commission to consider at a future session.
