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$25 Credit Available To Some Who Lost Power In Michigan

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Some Michigan residents who lost power in the ice storm may be eligible for a small credit.

The Michigan Public Service Commission says the $25 for residential customers is possible under the rules for service quality and reliability standards.  Those who want to request the credit should call their utility company.

The credit for businesses is based on a customer's minimum bill.

More information can be found in the MPSC's Consumer Tips Sheet at this link.

Crews, Friday afternoon, were continuing to restore electricity to Michigan homes and businesses, reducing the number of customers without power to about 60,000 across the state.

Consumers Energy says outages were down Friday afternoon to 46,000. About 11,500 DTE Energy customers were still in the dark due to harsh weather that began last week.

In the state capital, the Lansing Board of Water & Light says it's down to 2,600 outages.

Meantime, Gov. Rick Snyder had opted not to declare a state of emergency following last weekend's ice storm which, at its peak, caused half-a-million Michigan homes and businesses to lose power.

Authorities with the Michigan State Police say while there have been local state of emergencies, no formal requests have been submitted for state assistance or a governor's declaration.

However, Dave Murray with the governor's office told WWJ they're ready to step in if needed.

"We are working on ways to help our communities, if they express the need there," Murray said. "We're involved here and we certainly have full confidence in the MSP and its handling of the situation."

"Right, no, the assistance hasn't been needed because of the good job being done by the locals and by the utilities," he added.

Berry, Clinton, Eaton, and Shiawassee counties and Delta Township have declared a local state of emergency.

State officials say Consumers Energy and the Lansing Board of Water & Light expect to have power restored by Saturday night, while DTE Energy is looking at full restoration by Friday night.

The utilities are still bracing for possible problems from rising temperatures. They fear tree branches and ice could snap power lines as ice melts.

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