Northern Michigan’s Power Grid Recovery Hits a Wall, Sending Electric Bills Soaring
Residents across northern Michigan are facing a steep and unwelcome cost following one of the region’s most devastating natural disasters. After a catastrophic ice storm crippled power infrastructure earlier this year, the price tag for recovery is being shifted directly onto the shoulders of rural electricity customers, a consequence of the federal government’s refusal to grant essential disaster aid.
The storm, which brought three days of relentless freezing rain in March, encased an enormous swath of the northern lower peninsula in inches of ice, causing widespread destruction. Two rural electric cooperatives, the non-profit Presque Isle Electric & Gas (PIE&G) and Great Lakes Energy (GLE), saw their systems decimated. All told, the utility infrastructure damage was documented at approximately $90 million, a figure nearly five times the federal threshold to qualify for assistance. The total restoration and recovery costs for the utilities have been estimated at over $300 million.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration repeatedly appealed to the White House for FEMA’s Public Assistance Category F funding, which is designated for permanent utility repairs. However, in late October, the request was ultimately denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with officials stating the assistance was “not warranted.”
For the two co-ops, which are owned by their members, this rejection means there are no outside investors or federal taxpayers to absorb the multi-million dollar costs. Instead, the burden must be shouldered by the very customers who live in the affected area.
The financial impact is already being felt. Presque Isle Electric & Gas, which estimated its own recovery expenses to be around $150 million, approved a new monthly charge for its approximately 35,000 members. Starting in the fall, customers saw a new **$20 per month** increase on their electric bills, an added fee that is directly connected to repaying the debt accrued from the unprecedented storm damage.
Great Lakes Energy also announced rate changes that will affect its thousands of members. The utility’s board approved an increase resulting in a **$17.18 monthly jump** for the average residential member, effective in November. GLE officials were clear that any costs not covered by state or federal relief would have to be recovered through significant and sustained rate increases, potentially for many years to come.
The irony is not lost on local residents or politicians. The affected counties are largely working-class and voted overwhelmingly for President Trump in previous elections. Lawmakers are now urging the administration to reconsider, noting that without federal aid, these massive costs will lead to higher rates for households already facing economic hardship. While a separate request for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding is still under review, and state lawmakers are attempting to allocate $75 million in state aid, the immediate denial of funds for permanent utility repair has left residents with a stark reality: the lights are back on, but the financial storm has just begun.