Consumers Energy Meter Upgrades Extend to the Tip of the Mitten

More than 610,000 Meters Already Installed Across Michigan

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Sep 04, 2015, 06:00 ET

JACKSON, Mich., Sept. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 610,000 Consumers Energy customers have started receiving enhanced service with upgraded electric meters as far north as the tip of the Lower Peninsula.

The Boyne City region joins West Michigan, Kalamazoo and Flint as areas where the meters have been installed. Consumers Energy will install 1.8 million upgraded meters by the end of 2017.

"Right away, the new meters help us to get away from estimated meter reads by sending us a once-per-day text-type message with energy use information," said Garrick Rochow, Consumers Energy's vice president and chief customer officer.

"By next summer, the new meters will also have the ability to notify us of power outages, so we'll add that capability to enhance our power outage restoration process."

The upgraded meters will help Consumers Energy to be more efficient and control costs better, and provide households and businesses with online access to their energy use information that helps them to track their energy usage more closely, saving energy and money, Rochow said.

As the more-severe weather season approaches, Consumers Energy is reminding people to call 800-477-5050 when power outages occur, or to use mobile technology to go online during outages at www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter.

Consumers Energy began updating electric meters this summer in the Flint, Kalamazoo and Boyne City regions. The Battle Creek, Cadillac, Jackson, Ludington, Saginaw and Tawas regions are scheduled for meter upgrades in 2016, while the Clare, Lansing and Midland areas will get meter upgrades in 2017. As part of the upgrade, Consumers Energy will also install communication modules on natural gas meters of customers who also receive electric service, allowing remote meter reads of gas meters through the electric meters.

Notifications of meter upgrades will arrive in the form of large blue information postcards at homes about 30 days before the upgrades. Residents don't need to be home for the replacement, which takes only a few minutes, but they can call to make appointments if they choose. Businesses will be contacted in advance through mailings, calls or outreach meetings, depending on their size and the complexity of their electric service.

Households and businesses do have the option to continue using older meter technology and enroll in the manual meter reading program for $9.72 per month and a onetime cost of $69.39 to maintain the systems and infrastructure to support continued use of older meters.

"Enhancing service to our customers and controlling our costs are being made possible by using technology," Rochow said. "We are striving to provide the energy our customers need, whenever they need it, in ways we have never been able to before – thanks to technology."

Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.6 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com.

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This news release contains "forward-looking statements." The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause Consumers Energy's results to differ materially. All forward-looking statements should be considered in the context of the risk and other factors detailed from time to time in Consumers Energy's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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LEARN MORE: Find out more about the benefits of upgraded meters at www.ConsumersEnergy.com/smartenergy or call 1-888-862-2199.

SOURCE Consumers Energy