Contact Consumers Energy

Residential customer service

1-800-477-5050

Mon to Fri, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET; Sat 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Power outage (24/7)

1-800-477-5050

Downed wire? Call 911 first, then Consumers Energy.

Gas emergency / odor (24/7)

1-800-477-5050

Smell gas? Leave the building first, then call.

Payment mailing address

Consumers Energy Payment Center
P.O. Box 740309
Cincinnati, OH 45274-0309

Company fact sheet

Legal name
Consumers Energy Company
Parent
CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS)
Founded
1886
Electric customers
~1.9 million
Gas customers
~1.8 million
Counties served
68 of 83 (Lower Peninsula)
Regulator
MPSC + FERC
Headquarters
One Energy Plaza, Jackson, MI 49201
Grid operator
MISO

Quick actions

  • 1

    Start, stop, or transfer service

    Call 1-888-450-9143 at least 3 business days before move-in. Have your address, move-in date, and SSN or ID ready.

  • 2

    Pay a bill by phone

    Call 1-866-329-9593, 24/7. Or pay free from auto-pay / online portal.

  • 3

    Business or landlord service

    Business: 1-800-805-0490. Landlord: 1-855-477-9027.

Check the outage map

About Consumers Energy

Consumers Energy traces back to the founding of Jackson Light and Power in 1886. The modern company emerged from the 1968 reorganization that combined Consumers Power Co. and Michigan Gas & Electric. Today it is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy and one of the country's largest combination electric-and-gas utilities.

1.9M

Electric customers

1.8M

Gas customers

68

MI counties served

130+

Years in operation

Consumers Energy's service territory covers the entire Lower Peninsula except for the urban-southeast region (Detroit, Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties) where DTE Energy is the IOU, plus a handful of municipal towns (Bay City, Grand Haven Light, Holland BPW, Lansing BWL, etc.). The Upper Peninsula is served by Upper Peninsula Power, UMERC, and Xcel Energy (NSPW).

Consumers Energy is regulated by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), which sets the delivery rates and approves the energy-mix plan ("Integrated Resource Plan"). The company committed in 2018 to ending coal use by 2025; the last coal plant (Campbell) was retired in May 2025.

CallMePower explains

Michigan's limited electric choice and how it affects your bill

Michigan partially deregulated electricity supply in 2000, but the state law caps competitive supply at 10 percent of each IOU's load. Most Consumers Energy customers are on regulated bundled service, and the queue to switch is essentially always full.

Bundled service (default)

Consumers Energy supplies AND delivers your power. Rates are set by the MPSC in periodic rate cases. This is what 90 percent of MI customers have.

  • One bill, one company, one number to call.
  • Rates change only after MPSC rate orders, usually every 1 to 2 years.

Retail choice (capped at 10%)

A small slice of customers can buy supply from a licensed Alternative Electric Supplier (AES). Delivery still goes through Consumers Energy.

  • Mostly used by large commercial customers, schools, and municipalities.
  • The waiting list is essentially permanent: a slot only opens when an existing AES customer drops out.

Why this matters: When someone knocks on your door pitching cheaper supply, the answer is almost always no, not because the price is bad but because as a residential customer you cannot legally switch in Michigan. Door-to-door supply pitches in Consumers Energy territory are almost always confusing third-party billing schemes (gas marketers, rate-protection plans), not real retail choice.

Insider tip

Watch the MPSC docket calendar more than your bill

Because supply is bundled in MI, your bill barely moves from one month to the next on a kWh basis. The real swings come from MPSC rate cases: 18-month dockets where Consumers Energy asks for a multi-hundred-million-dollar increase to recover capital spending, with new rates effective the month after the order.

What that means for you: When you see a news story about a Consumers Energy rate case being settled, the increase is usually folded into bills 30 to 60 days later. Lock in any energy-efficiency upgrades (heat pump, attic insulation, programmable thermostat) before the increase hits. Also check the MPSC Case Number on consumersenergy.com/rates for the published effective date.

Frequently asked questions

Is Consumers Energy the same company as DTE?
No. Consumers Energy and DTE Energy are completely separate companies and they split Michigan's Lower Peninsula between them: DTE in the urban southeast (Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, parts of Washtenaw, Monroe, St. Clair), Consumers in the rest. They share the same regulator (MPSC) but compete on cost-of-service and reliability metrics.
Can I shop a cheaper supplier?
In theory yes, in practice almost never. Michigan caps competitive supply at 10 percent of each utility's load, and the queue is full. The 10 percent slots are dominated by large industrial and commercial customers. As a residential customer you can apply to the queue but you should not count on switching for years, if at all.
Can I get help paying my bill?
Yes. Ask about Michigan Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) and Home Heating Credit, both managed through 2-1-1 and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Consumers Energy also runs CARE (Consumer Affordable Resource for Energy), a 24-month income-tested discount and arrearage forgiveness program for customers under 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
My power is out. Who do I call?
Consumers Energy at 1-800-477-5050. If you see a downed power line, call 911 first, then Consumers Energy. The outage map and report form are at consumersenergy.com/outagemap.
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