Consumers Energy Gives Michigan Regulators More Time to Approve 13-Dam Sale to Confluence Hydro

Consumers Energy has given Michigan regulators until December 17 to decide on its sale of 13 hydroelectric dams to Confluence Hydro, moving the deadline from November 9. The company announced the extension on November 3, PR Newswire reported. Consumers Energy is a Michigan-regulated electric and natural gas utility and the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy. Confluence Hydro is the buyer named in the dam sale.

Consumers Energy's Dam Sale Terms

Consumers Energy submitted an agreement last year to sell the dams on five rivers to Confluence Hydro and to buy the energy they generate. The company said that arrangement gives it an incentive to keep all 13 dams in place for at least 30 years and saves its customers around $500 million compared with decommissioning the dams.

The extension gives the Michigan Public Service Commission more time for the company to keep working with interested parties toward a constructive settlement. Chris Fultz, Consumers Energy's senior vice president of electric supply, said: "We understand the desire for communities and our coworkers for an outcome in this case. We are providing for a little more time to reach a constructive agreement that will be a win for our customers, Michigan, and the communities we care about."

Fultz also said some parties have publicly opposed continuing settlement efforts. "Consumers Energy respectfully disagrees and remains committed to working in good faith to achieve a constructive settlement for the benefit of customers, communities and the State of Michigan," he said.

Consumers Energy's Scale and Leadership

According to akta.pro company records, Consumers Energy serves 6.8 million of Michigan's 10 million residents across all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. The same records list 13 hydroelectric dams with 132 MW of combined capacity and 9,000+ miles of power lines plus 2,550 miles of transmission gas pipelines. The records also show Chris Fultz as senior vice president and president of electric supply, a role the company announced in June 2026 as part of an internal succession.

Earlier Support for the Dam Sale

On October 29, 2026, the Detroit Free Press reported that local officials in communities around the 13 Consumers Energy dams support selling them to a Maryland private equity firm instead of decommissioning. On October 15, 2026, Yahoo reported that the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a $139.2 million natural gas rate increase for Consumers Energy, below the $240 million requested, with a typical residential customer seeing a $3.92 monthly increase effective November 1.

December 17 Decision Date

The Michigan Public Service Commission's deadline to decide on the sale is December 17.