If You Lost Power During This Week’s Storms You May be Eligible for a Credit from Consumers or DTE

Hundreds of thousands of people throughout Michigan lost power this week due to severe storms that rolled through Michigan. Today (Sunday 8/15), more than four days after the severe weather, Consumers Energy reports that more than 40,000 people are still without power, mostly in the southwest portion of the state.

If your home was or business was recently without power due to the severe weather, you may be eligible for a bill credit from either Consumers Energy or DTE Energy.

In order to qualify for the credit, you will have to meet certain eligibility requirements.

Under normal circumstances, utility companies have to issue credits to customers who are without power for more than 16 hours. However, since more than 10 percent of each of the utility companies' customers were without power, this is considered a 'catastrophic' event. Because this power outage was considered a catastrophic situation, both Consumers Energy and DTE Energy are allotted more time for power restoration by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

If your power was out for more than 120 hours, you may be eligible for a $25 credit on your energy bill. Here are the exact requirements, according to the Consumers Energy website:

• Service interrupted for more than 120 hours (five days) during catastrophic conditions (10 percent or more of a utility's customers affected)
• Service interrupted for more than 16 hours during normal (non-catastrophic) conditions
• Service interrupted 8 or more times in a 12-month period

Click here to apply for an electric outage credit from Consumers Energy.

Click here to apply for an electric outage credit from DTE Energy.