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Screenshot from a television advertisement from Citizens for Energizing Michigan's Economy.

(CEME screenshot)

LANSING — A group backed by Consumers Energy is buying radio and television ads throughout Michigan opposing efforts to open the electric market to more competition.

Citizens for Energizing Michigan's Economy (CEME) recently formed as a 501(c)4 "social welfare" organization with the goal of blocking efforts to remove a 10 percent cap on alternate electric suppliers.

It spent thousands of dollars on television and radio ads urging voters to ask their lawmakers to oppose House Bill 5184, a proposal that would allow more utilities to sell electricity in Michigan.

"When Texas decided to experiment with deregulating their electricity, let's just say things got a little bumpy. Electric bills shot through the roof, blackouts threatened communities across the state. Now out-of-state special interests want us to deregulate Michigan's electricity..." the television ad states. See the full video below.

In 2008 Michigan enacted its renewable energy standard and limited alternative energy suppliers to 10 percent of the electric market, a cap that was met by the end of 2009.

Supporters of HB 5184 argue the ad is misleading. They say eliminating the cap would save money for consumers and support the economy by lowering businesses' energy costs.

But the state's two largest utilities — Consumers Energy and DTE Energy — say the cap helped stabilize electric bills and offered existing utilities security when planning long-term infrastructure investments. They also said the legislation would shift hundreds of millions of dollars in annual fixed costs to electric customers that stay with the utilities.

The new group conducted robocalls for a couple of days but has no plans to continue them in the near term, said John Truscott, a CEME director and co-owner of the Truscott Rossman public relations firm in Lansing.

"(It's) just raising awareness about the issue and what's happened in other states as they've deregulated," Truscott said.

CEME's other director is Howard Edelson, who managed the Clean Affordable Renewable Energy (CARE) for Michigan campaign that successfully fought against a 2012 ballot proposal to increase the state's renewable energy standard. Rhoda Tinkham, a Consumers Energy retiree, is listed as the treasurer on documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission.

Consumers Energy and DTE Energy each contributed millions of dollars to the anti-Proposal 3 campaign. Consumers Energy is helping to fund CEME as well.

Truscott wouldn't reveal the group's supporters, budget or how much it spent on the advertisements.

"The less said the better on this one," he said.

Records filed with the FCC show CEME recently spent more than $10,000 on television ads in the Grand Rapids market.

Consumers Energy used shareholder dollars to support the group, said spokesman Dan Bishop. He wouldn't disclose how much money it spent.

"Electric deregulation has clearly proven to be a failed experiment in other states that followed this path, sharply raising electric rates for customers and resulting in blackouts and other reliability problems," he said in a statement.

While DTE is not currently financing CEMA, the utility echoed those sentiments.

"A deregulated electric environment has proven to be a failed experiment in other states, and responsible regulation is an appropriate path to a stable electric market," said DTE spokesman Alejandro Bodipo-Memba.

The new ads use "shameful scare tactics," that deflect from the fact that electric rates have shot up in Michigan since the monopoly-style cap went into place, said Maureen McNulty Saxton, spokeswoman for Energy Choice Now.

"This is clearly not working for anyone but the utilities," she said.

Energy Choice Now, which includes alternate energy suppliers and hundreds of businesses, hasn't run any ads and isn't sure whether it will, she said.

In addition to the 6,660 customers who are participating in electric choice programs, another 11,400 customers remained in the queue as of December 2013, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission.

As with many polarizing issues, supporters and opponents can both cite statistics supporting their position.

Michigan's electric rates have historically been at or above the national average, with the exception of 2000-2008, around the time Michigan allowed 100 percent electric choice, according to a November 2013 report from the MPSC and state energy office.

The report noted that there was a legislatively mandated rate cap from 2000 to 2005 and that rates rose sharply after that, continuing after the 2008 limit on alternative suppliers. Electric rates average 30 percent higher in deregulated states, but most of those states had higher rates before switching systems.

"Many broader market factors make it very difficult to separate the signal from the noise when it comes to measuring the impact of deregulation," the report said, noting that numerous studies have shown different conclusions.

"To be sure, the rates in Michigan have risen faster than other states regardless of whether those states were regulated or deregulated," according to the report.

Gov. Rick Snyder has called for more competitive energy rates for industrial customers, but in November he expressed caution about eliminating the 10 percent cap on alternative energy suppliers. A regulated market, he said, offers utilities stability.

Lawmakers are expected to discuss HB 5184 in committee hearings during the last two weeks of March, said bill sponsor Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

"I'm not offended at all by the ads," he said. "In fact to a great extent, it helps me make the point that we need to have the debate, because people are asking the questions, what are these ads about?"

Email Melissa Anders at manders@mlive.com. Follow her on Google+ and Twitter: @MelissaDAnders. Download the MLive app for iPhone and Android.