GOP-led Michigan House approved utility giveaways ahead of massive power grid failure

As of Thursday afternoon, thousands of Michigan residents were still without power five days after storms ravaged the state on Fourth of July weekend. Residents accused Michigan’s utility companies of failing to adequately respond to the crisis, months after lawmakers approved handouts to the same corporations.

Republican handouts

Despite promising to reduce utility rates for consumers, Republicans in the Michigan House advanced several bills that would benefit utility giants like Consumers Energy and DTE Energy. In May, House Bills 5710 and 5711 passed the state House on a party-line vote. State Rep. Pauline Wendzel (R-Watervliet), the chairwoman of the House Energy Committee, spearheaded the legislation. The GOP marketed package, known as “Project Lighthouse,” as a consumer-first initiative designed to lower utility bills and restore energy reliability.

“Michigan families have been treated like ATMs for a broken system,” Wendzel said in April.

An analysis conducted by the House Fiscal Agency found that the legislation would repeal the state’s 100% clean energy standard by 2040 provision, freeing utility corporations from achieving periodic waste reduction and energy saving mandates. The package would also eliminate the state’s Utility Consumer Representation Fund, which advocates against utility bill increases.

While discussing the bills in the House Energy Committee in April, all sitting Republicans also voted down a series of Democratic-written amendments. These additions aimed to:

• Restore funding for the Utility Consumer Representation Fund
• Prohibit the costs of keeping the J.H. Campbell Coal Plant (which is owned by Consumers Energy) from being passed onto ratepayers
• Restore energy efficiency programs and incentives
• Protect rooftop solar distribution

The Republican members of the Energy Committee did not immediately respond to inquires asking how their votes will reduce utility rates.

The Project Lighthouse package faces an uphill battle with Democrats in control of the state Senate and governor’s mansion. But the proposal comes as Michigan’s energy giants face severe backlash and reliability concerns.

Disastrous power outages

The power grid failure saw roughly 400,000 DTE Energy customers lose power over Fourth of July weekend, with as many as 9,000 residents still impacted five days later. On Monday, ABC 7 Detroit reported that thousands of residents in the Downriver area south of Detroit were still without power three days after the storms hit. ABC 7 interviewed residents who demanded something be done, including new business owner Terry Bevins, who was forced to throw away $8,000 worth of food days before opening a barbeque restaurant.

“It’s been a struggle the last 72 hours,” Bevins said. “It took a long time to get here. It was like so close, and it feels like it was just pulled right out from my hands.”

DTE Energy, the largest electricity provider in the state, received backlash for its response to the crisis. The company directed customers to a $42 daily reimbursement during the power outage, supposedly to cover for spoiled food.

“The guys from the crew were very nice,” Livonia resident Liz Mayernik told Detroit Free Press on Tuesday. “But the rest of the people, there was no sympathy, no care, nothing. No one reached out and asked: Are you OK? Nothing.”

DTE Energy CEO Joi Harris gave a press conference on the power outages on Tuesday. Reading from a script, Harris said her company would learn from the event. When asked about compensation for customers aside from the $42 utility bill credit, Harris admitted that the credit “doesn’t cut it” said the company is focused on preventing outages.

“The $42 — a day, actually — does not cover all of the expense. It’s not intended to,” Harris said. “The focus we have is on preventing these types of events altogether.”

DTE Energy is currently seeking a $473.3 million rate increase, which would increase monthly utility bills by roughly $10-25 for the company’s 2.3 million customers. When it submitted the request to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MSPC) in April, DTE also pledged to pause asking for future rate increases for two years. This is the fifth rate increase DTE has asked for in the last five years. In 2025, the company paid no federal income taxes for the 12th consecutive year while it reported roughly $100 million in additional earnings.

Democrat response

Michigan state Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) called for immediate oversight hearings into DTE’s response to the crisis. He also called for compelling the company to provide customers with “meaningful compensation” for the dayslong power outage.

Our residents deserve better pic.twitter.com/OgTMBgtaLz

— Alabas Farhat (@AlabasFarhat) July 6, 2026

On Monday, Farhat held a news conference with U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and local leaders in Dearborn, Mich. The lawmakers blasted DTE and the MPSC after customers were referred to the $42 daily bill credit.

“But if I have 25 lines down that are live, I have to sit a firefighter down at each one to babysit because DTE is not staffed appropriately. These are hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses every year,” Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said.

Last year, state Rep. Donovan McKinney (D-Detroit) introduced House Bill 4973, legislation that would implement increased compensation to ratepayers for outages.