The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) is in the processof expanding on a pilot program to provide all natural gascustomers in the state with the choice of suppliers. The MPSC staffis meeting with Michigan Consolidated Gas, Consumers Energy, SEMCOEnergy Gas and all other interested parties to formulate a uniformset of terms and conditions for natural gas customer choice.

The MPSC staff will hold meetings on four consecutive Thursdaysbeginning Aug. 17 at the commission’s offices in Lansing, MI. Allinterested parties are invited to attend and discuss issuespertaining to customer choice including rates charged by localdistribution companies.

Michigan is currently running a voluntary three-year natural gascustomer choice program for 225,000 MichCon customers, 300,000Consumers Energy customers and 21,000 SEMCO customers. ConsumersEnergy customers will continue to be able to pick their supplieruntil March 2001, while the other two companies’ customers willhave choice until March 2002.

“My colleagues and I have been active in investigating andpromoting ways to introduce more competition into the industriesthat we regulate,” said MPSC Chairman John Strand. “We have beenencouraged that a large number of Michigan customers have chosen toparticipate in the pilot natural gas customer choice programs andwish to draw upon the practical experience gained from theseprograms to begin developing uniform terms and conditions to expandcustomer choice to all Michigan natural gas customers.”

Interested parties can learn more about natural gas customerchoice in Michigan at the commission’s gas division web site:https://cis.state.mi.us/mpsc/gas/choice.htm.

©Copyright 2000 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.