MARQUETTE — The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a series of changes that will benefit customers, strengthen rules and technical standards for regulated utilities, and improve the reliability of Michigan’s electric grid.

The approved series comes from a settlement agreement with Upper Peninsula Power Company that was reached in the company’s rate review case pending before the MPSC, according to an UPPCO press release.

On Friday, the MPSC increased power outage credits to $35 for eligible customers plus $35 more each additional day the power is out and makes the credits automatic. According to a press release from the MPSC, until Friday the credit had been a total of $25 per qualifying outage and required customers to apply with their utility.

MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said the increased outage credits will provide customers more relief if they endure long-duration outages.

“The credits may not cover all of the losses electric customers face when they lose power, but this is a major step forward,” Scripps said in the press release. “Not only is the outage credit more, it’s also no longer a one-time credit per incident, and customers will no longer have to request the credits from utilities.”

According to MPSC, the power outage credit kicks in after 96 hours during catastrophic conditions. These conditions are defined as a utility having 10% or more of its customers without power, after 48 hours during gray sky conditions affecting 1% to 10% of a utility’s customers, and after 16 hours during normal conditions.

The outage credits now also adjust to the rate of inflation.

Additionally, MPSC’s approved settlement includes $200,000 in corporate donations to nonprofit organizations that serve low-income citizens, increases the cap for customer-owned distributed generation from 3% to 4.5% and adjusts the base rates that are charged to all customers to reflect the actual cost of providing electric utility service.

“UPPCO’s base rates haven’t increased since the company’s last rate review case was approved by the MPSC nearly four years ago,” UPPCO Vice President of Business Development and Communications Brett French said in a press release. “During that time, UPPCO has successfully contained costs while making significant investments that improve upon customer service and increase the reliability and resiliency of its distribution system.”

According to UPPCO’s press release, under the approved settlement, the monthly bill for a residential customer who consumes 500 kilowatt hours of energy will increase from $121.08 to $133.38, an increase of $12.30 or 10.1%.

“When compared against the rate of inflation over the past four years, this increase is actually lower than the compounded rate of inflation, a testament to the company’s ongoing efforts to contain costs and deliver exceptional value to the customers we serve,” French said.

The new rates will go into effect beginning July 1.

For more information, visit online at uppco.com.