Consumers Energy vows to get off coal by 2040, cut emissions 80%

Consumers Energy plans to cut carbon emissions by 80%, stop using coal to generate electricity by 2040 and promises to produce 40% of its power from renewable sources also by 2040, the president and CEO of the Jackson-based utility said Monday.

"In the past, people believed that we had to choose between affordable and clean energy," said Consumers CEO Patti Poppe. "We don't subscribe to that sucker's choice. Our commitment is to achieve our goal and keep our prices affordable."

Billed as a "major clean energy announcement” via conference call, the company also said that in the next five years it plans to save 1 billion gallons of water, reduce landfill waste by 35% and restore and protect 5,000 acres of land in Michigan.

The announcements come just days after news that a renewable energy coalition — Clean Energy, Clean Michigan — got the green light to gather signatures for a Nov. 6 ballot measure that would mandate more renewable power by 2030.

Consumers Energy opposes the proposed measure.

To get the proposal on the ballot, the group needs at least 252,523 signatures within 180 days.

If passed, the measure would mandate Michigan energy companies get at least 30% of their power from wind, solar or other renewable sources by 2030. A similar measure, calling for a state constitutional amendment mandating 25% renewable energy use by 2025, was defeated six years ago.

Poppe said during Monday's call that the company supports more renewable energy and expects to exceed many of the ballot measure's proposed standards, but does not endorse legislating more targets because that would limit the company's flexibility to achieve them.

"Some of the interim targets that are proposed as part of that ballot proposal may lock us into the wrong technologies at the wrong time," Poppe said. "Energy is complex, and a simple yes-no, up-down ballot proposal doesn't leave Michigan the flexibility it needs to make this transition most cost-effective."

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Consumers Energy has annual revenues of $6.1 billion and serves 1.8 million electric and 1.7 million natural gas customers.

Poppe, who became president and CEO in 2016, joined Consumers Energy in 2011 as a vice president after working at DTE Energy and General Motors. She has a master's degree in management from Stanford University and an engineering degree from Purdue University.

Last year, she wrote in the Lansing State Journal that Consumers Energy is "in the middle of changes that are transforming our mission to provide reliable and affordable energy" with commitments to more renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

The company did not give projections Monday on how its plans would affect rates, but it pointed out that moving to more renewable power generation — particularly more wind and later, more solar — would lower long-term fuel costs, and also create a more efficient energy system.

"The best way to save our customers money on their energy bills is to invest in more energy efficiency and energy waste reduction," said Brandon Hofmeister, a Consumers Energy senior vice president. "That is a huge component of our plan, here. We are going to really help and enable our customers to save the amount of energy they use and as a result, we're going to avoid having to build new power plants in the future."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com. Staff writer Keith Matheny contributed.