MI HB5865

Changes "shall" to "must" throughout section 10a regarding commission orders for alternative electric supplier rates, terms, and conditions of service.

Adds new subsection (9) requiring the commission to issue orders within 270 days allowing municipally owned utilities, electric utilities, and private entities to establish microgrids that support critical facilities, with uniform interconnection standards and emergency operation capabilities.

Prohibits electric utilities from charging standby rates to microgrids owned by entities other than the utility, and requires utilities to allow customers to use microgrids meeting commission-adopted standards.

Requires the commission to issue a report by December 31, 2018 analyzing electric distribution system reliability, best practices for handling natural disasters, barriers to implementation, and opportunities for innovative approaches to improve resilience and efficiency.

Establishes an advisory panel consisting of representatives from investor-owned utilities, local government, municipally owned utilities, cooperative utilities, environmental organizations, consumers, the energy industry, and labor to assist in preparing the reliability report.