Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) has asked Michigan regulators to approve a $17.3 million electric rate hike — one that would raise bills by more than 15% for most of the 53,000 households it serves across the U.P.

The timing could not be worse. UPPCO customers already pay the highest residential electric rates in Michigan, averaging nearly 28 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2024. That's 43% above the state average and among the highest in the entire country, according to federal data. These are families and neighbors with no other power company to turn to — UPPCO is the only option in much of the Upper Peninsula.

The Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, a nonprofit that advocates for ratepayers, called the proposal "tone deaf and out of touch with struggling U.P. families." The group's general counsel, John Liskey, described it as "among the highest proposed residential rate increases that CUB has seen from any Michigan electric utility in recent memory," adding: "It is hard to see how such a massive rate hike can be justified."

Now the decision falls to the three governor-appointed commissioners of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) in Lansing. They have both the authority and the responsibility to protect Michigan ratepayers. When UPPCO filed a nearly identical $16.9 million request in 2024, the MPSC cut it to $9 million before approving it. We're asking them to go further this time — and reject this increase, or dramatically reduce it.

Sign this petition to urge the Michigan Public Service Commission to reject UPPCO's proposed rate hike and stand up for the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on affordable electricity to heat their homes, run their businesses, and stay connected in one of the most remote regions of the Midwest.