Federal emergency officials have allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to utilities for clean up after last year's ice storms in Northern Michigan. One of those utilities, the Presque Isle Electric and Gas Co-op, says the process of obtaining those funds is still ongoing.
The co-op has been allocated over $146 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) so far. They requested $152.5 million from FEMA.
Because of federal cost-sharing laws, the utility will see up to 75% of those funds, leaving them to cover the rest. Alan Berg, the co-op's CEO, said they will have to cover what's left.
“That will have a long-term impact on the membership's rates, which is unavoidable unless we can find other funding," Berg said.
Berg indicated he has “not heard any movement or any other discussions,” regarding potential state funding. A $100 million relief bill passed the state House in 2025, but has not moved out of committee in the Senate.
In addition, PIE&G won't receive that money until after the state approves it, which Berg says could take up to six months.
The co-op took out an emergency line of credit to cover widespread storm damage.
They added a $20 surcharge to members' bills to cover those interest payments. Berg says it can't eliminate or lower the extra charge until the funds are received.
“Every day costs us $22,000 in interest, and we don't have any of this, none of this money is actually in our bank account,” he said.
After the funds are received, he says they will “give it to our lenders to pay down the principal so our interest will fall immediately.”
The utility says it had to undergo extensive repairs to infrastructure, including repairs on over 2,800 poles and 3,800 miles of power lines. Fellow Northern Michigan utility co-op Great Lakes Energy says it had to replace over 4,300 miles of line and fiber and over 3,100 poles after the ice storm.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, along with state and federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, pushed for federal aid for utilities in the region, after it was initially denied in 2025.
Berg says he’s grateful for the federal relief. “We just appreciate everybody's patience and we're happy to be eligible for federal reimbursement,” he said.
