CMS Energy plans to sell renewable assets to focus on regulated utilities

CMS Energy, the parent company of Consumers Energy, plans to sell off the non-utility renewable energy development side of its NorthStar Clean Energy Services subsidiary. That business runs about 1.8 gigawatts of generation across Michigan, Ohio, Texas and other states. The company says the sale would net roughly $500 million and let it focus on its regulated utility business, which serves 1.8 million electric customers and 1.7 million gas customers in central and western Lower Michigan. CMS Energy plans to keep some Michigan assets, including a large cogeneration plant near Detroit, two gas-fired peaker plants, and four solar installations totaling about 500 megawatts.

For homeowners served by Consumers Energy, this is mostly a corporate restructuring story rather than something that changes your bills right away. But Consumers has also filed a request for $456 million in additional revenue and a higher return on equity, following an earlier rate case that raised revenue by $276 million. The company says it needs money to harden its grid after storm damage and reliability problems, including a request for a new mechanism to recover those costs over two years. Rate cases like this can eventually show up as changes to your electric bill, so it's worth watching how Michigan regulators rule on the pending request.

The company also disclosed that keeping its J.H. Campbell coal plant running past its planned 2025 retirement, under federal emergency orders, has cost $259 million so far — costs it intends to try to recover through rate proceedings as well.