(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/11/2025) The amount that can be added to electric bills for the low-income energy assistance was proposed to be increased Tuesday under a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) order. 

MPSC proposed setting the amount charged in 2025 for the Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) to $1.25 per meter. The number of meters charged would be limited to one meter per residential site. The law, signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2024, would let the amount be raised by 25 cents each year until $2 per meter and then adjusted for inflation. 

“This, when combined with the elimination of the total cap, is expected to result in approximately $71 million for MEAP assistance in fiscal year 2025-26, an increase of more than 40 percent from the $50 million collected in pervious years,” said MPSC Chair Dan Scripps. 

The funding for the charge would be put into the Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund and before the law was signed, the amount was set at $1 per month up to a $50 million cap for the total funding raised.  

The assessment would apply to all power utilities, but those with less than 45,000 residential electric customers could opt out if they have an assistance program matching the requirements for the heat and electrical assistance. 

Prior to the eligibility increase, MEAP was assisting an average of 50,000 households per year. To get assistance, a family of four would be eligible if the annual income was $46,800 or lower. 

Now a family of four bringing in $61,861 or less could get help. As many as 335,000 households would now qualify. 

The proposed increase was now open to public comment, which would last until March 4. 

Scripps said Whitmer recommended including an extra $25 million for MEAP, which would get the program funded for two years. 

He said he attended the bill signing and was impressed by the testimonials and speeches given. 

“I was reminded of the quote from the author W. Somerset Maugham, who in describing the toll poverty can take, once wrote, ‘They have never felt the iron of poverty in their flesh, they do not know how mean it makes you. It exposes you to endless humiliation. It cuts your wings. It eats into your soul like a cancer. It’s not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent,’” Scripps said.