With the Governor’s approval of Senate Bills 364 and 864 and House Bill 5190, a fix, albeit temporary, was provided to ensure Michigan’s poor have resources to pay for home heating this Winter.
The compromise on the legislation reached last week calls for the return of the roughly $48 million previously collected from customers and a continuation of the surcharge customers have been paying for another nine months to restore the $48 million. This will be combined with a $10 million general fund appropriation to equal the $58 million that was appropriated last year. The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) waited no time in implementing the structure for the support, partially through the awarding of grants totaling $23 million. The grants are headed to eight charitable organizations statewide as follows:
The Heat and Warmth Fund: $9.7 million
The Salvation Army: $6.7 million
TrueNorth Community Services: $2.6 million
Michigan Community Action Association: $2.1 million
Downriver Community Conference: $852,000
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of the Archdiocese of Detroit: $681,000
Lighthouse Emergency Services: $256,000
Barry County United Way: $128,000