• Energy & Utilities

  • Michigan’s robust energy utility infrastructure helps ensure ready access to competitively-priced power and water resources.

  • Electricity & Power Generation

    In many industries, electricity is one of the biggest costs of production. And Michigan is competitive, with a cost per kilowatt hour of $0.94 compared to the national average of $0.95 . Powered today primarily by coal and nuclear, but increasingly with alternative energy sources, Michigan companies enjoy reliability and price stability because of this mix of fuel sources.
    • Michigan was the first state to embrace the concept of electric customer choice through retail wheeling. Now, 22 states have begun restructuring their utility businesses, but according to rankings by the independent Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets (CAEM), Michigan is still among the leading states in the country.
    • Michigan also has a wide network of transmission lines, increasingly important for harnessing Michigan’s wind (link to wind page), solar (link to solar page), hydroelectric and other alternative energy storage (link to advanced battery page) potential.

  • Natural Gas

    Michigan's natural gas supply is abundant, reliable, economical, and available from many suppliers. The state's unique geology and geography combine to provide some of North America's most abundant and economical natural gas.
    • Michigan is the nation's 11th-largest gas production state, with 25% of natural gas needs supplied from in-state sources. 
    • All Michigan natural gas customers are eligible to purchase their supplies directly from licensed alternative gas suppliers (AGSs).
    • Michigan is also a continental storage hub, with over 650 billion cubic feet of cyclic storage capacity in geological formations – more than any other state – ensuring continued supplies during high usage periods in the winter. In addition, a mid-continent location and proximity to Canada facilitate a pipeline network that interconnects gas production facilities in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico and Canada.
    For more information and service area maps, visit the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth’s Public Service Commission page on natural gas.

  • Water Resources

    Michigan is blessed by vast supplies of fresh surface waters and bordered by four of five Great Lakes: Michigan, Superior, Huron and Erie, collectively the largest source of fresh water by surface area and volume. These “inland seas” provide: drinking water for our residents, clean water as an input and product for numerous industries, recreational opportunities, habitat for fish and wildlife, freshwater for a vibrant commercial and recreational fishery, and transportation byways for a significant shipping industry.

    The State of Michigan is also blessed with a vast supply of groundwater that traverses almost the entire state, and is used for drinking, irrigation, and industrial processing. It provides drinking water for over half the state’s residents through both public water supply systems and private drinking water wells.

    • The Great Lakes provide Michigan with 823,000 jobs that represent nearly 25 percent of Michigan’s payroll . Tourism related to Michigan’s Great Lakes and other water resources generates billions of dollars each year.
    • Michigan has over 10,188 inland lakes of 5 or more acres, as well as 36,050 miles of rivers and streams.
    • Michigan ranks 3rd nationally in surface water area.
    For more information on Michigan’s water resources, visit our Water Technologies Sector page.