LANSING - A plan to reform Michigan's energy regulatory environment for its utilities ran out of gas in the state Senate on June 9, but general agreement for a long-term solution may be in the works.

The Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council and two of the largest employers of union tradespeople in the state, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, support Senate Bills 437 and 438, sponsored by Republican Sens. Mike Nofs and John Proos.

The bills provide a measure of certainty for the state's regulated homegrown utilities that they will provide power on a level playing field with competing secondary energy companies that sell power, but don't actually pay for and maintain power plants that create it.

The legislation as presented continues the statewide 10 percent cap on utility customers who can choose to sign up with competing utilities, but adds protections for those institutional utilities. Such "choice" customers, usually big energy users, have been able to save money by opting out of service by utilities like DTE Energy and Consumers Energy since 2008.

"DTE and Michigan’s other utilities, including co-op and municipal systems, are making plans to replace retiring plants with renewables and cleaner power plants fueled by natural gas," said Gerry Anderson, chairman and CEO of DTE Energy. "Michigan’s current energy laws require these regulated providers to have enough secure power sources to serve their customers. Not so with the non-regulated retail marketers. And as power plant retirements shrink the generating capacity that the retail marketers have relied on, the reliability of our state’s entire grid could be put at risk."

According to the news service MIRS, the state Legislature is still not able to come to agreement on the breakdown of how many utility customers get to take advantage of choice. "The votes have broken down three ways in the Senate," MIRS said last week. "Republicans supportive of expanded choice, Republicans supportive of policies backed by Consumers and DTE Energy, and Democrats who want the 10 percent RPS (renewable portfolio standard) from 2015 expanded to 20 percent by 2022."

A consensus on the legislation wasn't expected to be complete before the lawmakers broke for summer June 16. "I'd rather get the policy right than rush a bill out," Nofs told MIRS. "We're going to continue to work on it over the summer."