LANSING, Mich. — Michigan investments in energy waste reduction programs in 2025 will generate more than $1.44 billion in savings for utility customers, according to an annual report released Thursday by the state Public Service Commission under Public Act 295.
The programs saved 1.76 million megawatt hours of electricity last year — enough to power a city the size of Ann Arbor — and 5.88 million thousand cubic feet of natural gas. Utilities spent more than $595 million on the efforts, producing $2.42 in customer savings for every $1 spent over a 12-year lifecycle.
Residential offerings include lighting, heating and cooling upgrades, weatherization, energy education, and appliance recycling, with separate programs for businesses. Officials say the savings can delay or avoid costly new power plants and blunt rising fuel costs that flow into bills.
More than $162 million, or more than 27% of program spending, went to income-qualified customers in 2025, up from less than 10% in 2016. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked Michigan first nationally in natural gas savings as a percentage of sales and third for electricity savings.
Michigan energy waste reduction standard, created in 2008 and amended by the Legislature in 2016 and 2023, requires electric and natural gas utilities to run customer programs that cut future service costs. About 78,000 Michiganders work in the energy efficiency sector, according to federal employment data cited by the commission.
