Top Tier — Michigan Battery Sales Reference

Consumers Energy · Grand Rapids, Lansing & Outstate Michigan

Sales reference for reps working Consumers Energy territory. This is the deep reference — how to sell it up top, full utility detail below. Consumers Energy serves roughly 1.9 million electric customers across Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, and most of outstate lower Michigan. Michigan's design is inflow/outflow: everything you draw bills at full retail — about 19 to 20 cents all-in here, the highest headline rate in our entire northern book — and your outflow credits at the power-supply energy component, which at Consumers is seasonal and time-of-use: about 15.2 cents summer on-peak, 10.4 summer off-peak, 8.3 winter. Here's the honest arithmetic that makes this guide different from the last one: because the outflow credit tracks the energy charge, the self-consumption gap is essentially FLAT — about 9.3 cents, the non-bypassable distribution charge — regardless of when the battery discharges. That's about $350 a year, honest and steady. Corrections in this edition: the old "RSP-DG plan" doesn't exist (the DG program bills on your existing rate — the default is Rate RSP, a seasonal TOU with a 2–7pm summer peak), and the "SolarCurrents-style incentive" the old guide mentioned is a DTE program that was never Consumers' — struck. The legacy cohort (enrolled before January 1, 2021) keeps 1:1 for ten years from their individual enrollment, and the transfer-at-sale rule is genuinely conflicted between Consumers' own move-in process and the state's guidance — this guide states both and asserts neither. The battery here is a steady-spread machine at Michigan's highest rates, an ice-storm backup, and a takeover.

What kind of market this is

Consumers Energy is an exposed inflow/outflow market with a flat ~9.3¢ honest spread (~$350/yr) at the highest headline rates in our northern book — real rate names, a dated legacy cohort with personal 10-year clocks, a transfer-at-sale conflict stated straight, and the Feb 2023 ice storm at ~260,000 as the Consumers-only anchor. Five defining facts:

1. The mechanics — with the real names. There is no "RSP-DG plan." The DG program is Rule C11.3, and it bills on the customer's existing rate schedule — for residential, that's Rate RSP ("Residential Summer On-Peak Basic"), itself a seasonal TOU with a 2–7pm weekday on-peak, June–September. Outflow credits at the power-supply energy component (including transmission and PSCR): $0.151904 summer on-peak / $0.103970 summer off-peak / $0.082996 winter (Sheet C-64.30, eff. 5/1/2026, Case U-21870). Since Michigan's 2024 change, credits offset all charges except securitization. Monthly netting, no cash-out.
2. The spread is flat — and that's the honest headline. Because the outflow credit tracks the energy charge across TOU periods, the gap between buying and self-supplying is essentially the non-bypassable distribution charge: $0.093333/kWh — flat ~9.3¢ whenever the battery discharges. No time-of-day gaming, no seasonal cliff — about $350 a year, steady. The old guide implied a TOU-varying spread; the arithmetic says flat, and flat is easier to sell because it's checkable.
3. All-in rates are the highest headline in our northern book: ~19–20¢ at 1,000 kWh (System Access charge $8.00, distribution $0.093333, plus the TOU energy charges), with +6.1% (~$6.46/mo) effective May 2026 (U-21870) on top of the prior year's increase.
4. The legacy cohort is real, dated — and its sale rule is honestly conflicted. Enrolled before January 1, 2021 → 1:1 for ten years from the individual enrollment date (so runways run to 2027–2030 depending on the year — ask it first). Capacity expansion voids it. At sale: Consumers' own move-in process (New Move-in Form + $25 fee) lets a buyer continue the interconnection and inherit the remaining term — while the state's guidance says legacy status terminates on a move. We state both, assert neither, and get it in writing per customer.
5. The programs list is corrected. The "SolarCurrents-style production incentive" was a DTE program misattributed here — struck. Consumers' real programs: the DG outflow program itself, the Simple Renewable Program (a 6.1¢ outflow alternative, 150 kW cap, customer keeps RECs), Solar Gardens (a community-solar subscription, not a payment), and thermostat DR ($50 + $25/summer — not batteries). No battery program exists.

Your lead is the flat spread at the highest rates. ~9.3¢ per stored kilowatt-hour, every hour, ~$350 a year — arithmetic off Consumers' own sheets, with the +6.1% May step pressing the buy side. Legacy customers get the personal-clock conversation and the honest conflict on the sale rule. The Feb 2023 ice storm (~260,000 Consumers customers) closes as lived memory.

Default configuration: backup-capable is the strong default — outstate Michigan is ice-storm country with long rural feeders.

• Backup-capable: $18,500 cash / $23,942 financed / ~$228/mo
• Self-consumption-only: $17,000 cash / $22,068 financed / ~$210/mo

Confirm pricing, configuration, cohort (legacy enrollment year vs current DG), and current rates in the tool before quoting.

PART A — The Pitch (Problem → Solution → Urgency → Close)

The spine is multiple beats per section: customer headline + statement + rep layer (+ objection where noted). Beats marked (BACKUP ONLY) render only for backup config; COHORT beats swap by legacy vs current-DG status.

The Problem

You pay the highest headline rate in our northern book — and every kilowatt-hour you send out comes back about nine cents more expensive. (CURRENT-DG COHORT) Consumers bills everything you draw at nineteen to twenty cents all-in. Your outflow credits at the energy component — decent-looking numbers, fifteen cents at summer peak — but the distribution charge, nine point three cents, rides every kilowatt-hour you buy back and never applies to what you send out. Send it out, buy it back, pay the difference. Every day.

Rep layer: The exposed opener — the flat-spread arithmetic told precisely: all-in ~19–20¢ (System Access $8.00; distribution $0.093333 non-bypassable; TOU energy) vs outflow $0.151904/$0.103970/$0.082996 (Sheet C-64.30, eff. 5/1/2026). The key insight stated plainly: the credit TRACKS the energy charge, so the self-consumption gap ≈ the flat 9.3¢ distribution charge in every period — no TOU-varying spread exists here (the old implication is retired), and flat is the stronger pitch because it's checkable and constant. ~$350/yr typical. Rate names correct: DG = Rule C11.3 billed on the existing schedule; residential default = Rate RSP (seasonal TOU, on-peak 2–7pm weekdays Jun–Sep); "RSP-DG" doesn't exist — a rep using it gets corrected by the customer's own bill. Objection — "My solar covers my bill." It offsets the energy side well — the nine-cent distribution ride on every bought-back kilowatt-hour is the leak, and it's exactly what storage plugs.

Your legacy clock is personal — and the sale rule deserves a straight answer. (LEGACY COHORT) You enrolled before 2021, so you have true one-to-one — for ten years from your enrollment date. Expanding the system voids it. And on selling the house, I'll give you the honest version most reps won't: Consumers' own move-in paperwork lets a buyer continue the interconnection and inherit your remaining term for a twenty-five dollar fee — while the state's guidance says the status ends on a move. Those two things don't agree, and anyone who tells you a clean answer is guessing. We ask Consumers in writing, per deal.

Rep layer: The legacy opener — individualized + the conflict stated straight. Ask the enrollment year first (cutoff 1/1/2021; personal 10-yr clocks → runways 2027–2030). Legacy = 1:1 → NEVER oversell bill savings (exports already earn retail); honest value = resilience + post-clock positioning + no-reset. THE CONFLICT DISCIPLINE: Consumers' New Move-in Form + $25 fee (inherit remaining term) vs the statewide MPSC brief (terminates on move) — both stated, neither asserted, written confirmation requested per customer; a rep asserting either side unprompted is guessing on the customer's money. Objection — "So does my grandfather transfer or not?" Honest answer: the paperwork says one thing and the state's brief says another, nobody's published the reconciliation, and we get your specific answer in writing before you list.

Your system is orphaned. Whoever installed your solar is likely gone, merged, or unreachable — especially after so many installers folded when the federal tax credit expired at the end of 2025. If something goes wrong, there's no one accountable. You own the system and the risk.

Rep layer: Standard orphaned-system beat. Ask who installed it and whether they'd answer a service call.

Your inverter is on the clock. Your inverter is several years old. When it fails out of warranty, that's about $3,500 to $5,000 out of pocket — and your system produces nothing until it's replaced, typically 4 to 8 weeks.

Rep layer: Standard inverter beat. SolarEdge ~12-yr warranty, real failure 8–15 yrs; Enphase 25-yr, real issues 10–20.

(BACKUP ONLY) February 2023 put a quarter-million Consumers customers into freezing dark — and your solar shut off with the grid. The ice storm knocked out about two hundred sixty thousand Consumers customers, with a second wave days later adding forty-five thousand more — many homes cold for most of a week. Grid-tied panels produce nothing in an outage; a battery keeps your furnace controls, refrigerator, and essentials running, and recharges from the sun through restoration.

Rep layer: Renders ONLY for backup config. Consumers anchors, stated precisely: Feb 2023 ice storm — ~260,000 Consumers customers (plus ~45,000 in the Feb 27 second storm) — the Consumers-only figures; the old "800,000+ DTE and Consumers" line conflated both utilities and is retired. A 2025 northern-Michigan ice storm occurred (the state ordered bill credits) but no Consumers-specific count is pinned — reference it without a number. Outstate honesty: long rural feeders mean staged restoration; someone's line is always last.

The Solution

A battery captures a flat nine cents — every stored kilowatt-hour, every season. (CURRENT-DG) Instead of sending your surplus out and buying it back nine cents heavier, the battery stores it and serves your home — and because Consumers' credit tracks the energy charge, the nine-point-three-cent capture holds whether it discharges at summer peak or a winter evening. About three hundred fifty dollars a year, steady. (LEGACY) Your one-to-one already earns retail — so the battery's job is everything the clock doesn't cover: outages now, and the full spread the day your personal ten years end.

• Self-consumption: "The distribution charge stops riding your own power — flat nine cents captured, every hour the battery serves."
• Backup: "All of that — and your furnace runs through the next ice storm."

Monthly Cost Chart and Net Bill Breakdown render here.

Rep layer: THE core cure beat — cohort-split. CURRENT-DG = the flat-spread play: ~9.3¢ × ~3,760 kWh/yr shifted ≈ ~$350 (the tool computes actuals); the flatness is the feature — no timing games to promise, no seasonal asterisk, checkable against the customer's own sheets. LEGACY = NOT a spread play today (1:1) — resilience + post-clock + no-reset; never oversell. The non-bypassable point holds exactly: energy offset ≠ bill offset; the $8 System Access charge and the 9.3¢ on purchased power are the honest frame.

(BACKUP ONLY) It keeps your home running when the grid goes down. Powers your essentials — furnace blower and controls first, refrigerator, well pump, medical devices, connectivity — through an outage, and recharges from solar daily for as long as restoration takes.

Rep layer: The resilience cure beat. Outstate winter honesty: ice outages are heating emergencies; furnace-circuit framing leads; winter sun recharges at reduced rates — load management and honest duration expectations.

We take it over. Top Tier becomes the single point of contact for your entire system — a new 10-year workmanship warranty, the 5-year Align Solar Protection contract ($0 deductible, non-transferable), and manufacturer warranty coordination.

Rep layer: Answers the orphaned-system problem. Transfers: workmanship with written consent; Align non-transferable; manufacturer per OEM terms.

Thousands you don't pay. The $11K+ Hidden Costs Avoided bundle — built into the takeover, not sold as extras.

Rep layer: Reframes total cost. "Your payment buys the battery plus warranty plus service plus inverter-replacement coverage — over $11K of value."

And whatever the program does next, your stored power is yours. Michigan already rewrote solar compensation once — that's how the two cohorts exist — and the outflow figures reset with every rate case, most recently this May. Power you store and use yourself doesn't ride any of it.

Rate Justification + Own vs Rent render here.

Rep layer: The independence beat — the 2021 transition (Consumers' DG date) is the proof terms change; outflow resets through rate cases (U-21870 just did it, eff. 5/1/2026). 25-yr scenarios: conservative 4%, moderate 6%, aggressive 8% — anchor near-term to the documented +6.1% May 2026 step on top of the prior year's U-21585 increase.

Urgency

The honest clocks — a May step that just landed, personal legacy runways, and ice.

The rate clock. Consumers' latest increase — six point one percent, about six and a half dollars a month — took effect this May, on top of last year's. At nineteen-to-twenty-cent power, every month without a hedge is a month fully exposed on the buy side, while the flat nine-cent capture waits.

Rep layer: Honest urgency — documented: U-21870 approved 3/27/2026, eff. 5/1/2026, +$6.46/mo (+6.1%) at 500 kWh; prior U-21585 eff. 4/4/2025. Two steps in fourteen months; the trajectory carries itself.

The legacy clock — personal, not manufactured. (LEGACY) Ten years from your own enrollment — for most legacy customers, sometime between 2027 and 2030. You can do that math; I won't dramatize it. The honest note: a battery installed now doesn't touch the clock, covers the outages it never did, and is fully positioned the day it ends.

Rep layer: Individualized, anti-manufactured — their year, their runway. The sale-rule conflict is the sharper note for anyone considering listing: get the written answer before you need it.

The ice clock. A quarter-million Consumers customers froze through most of a week in February 2023, and northern Michigan iced again in 2025. A battery installed before the next storm is a warm house; one ordered after is a backorder.

Rep layer: Factual, preparedness-framed — the ~260K Consumers-only figure, the 2025 event referenced without an unpinned number.

What is NOT a clock: the DG program itself. Michigan raised the cap to ten percent in 2023 and Consumers sits at a fraction of it. Nothing is pending against the program. Cap-scarcity urgency is an invented deadline; we don't run it.

Rep layer: The anti-manufacture rule — headroom ~79–89%; the honest clocks are the May step, personal runways, and weather.

The Close

1. Verify credit + confirm cohort and configuration. Run the credit check; ask the legacy question — "when did you enroll?" (pre-1/1/2021 = legacy, personal 10-year clock) — and confirm the backup/self-consumption configuration.
2. Confirm current rates in the tool. The outflow figures reset with rate cases (most recently 5/1/2026) and the RSP energy charges are seasonal TOU — the tool carries today's figures; never quote from memory. Interconnection details (the $150 DG application fee, AMI meter) go in the paperwork; insurance and battery-configuration specifics are confirmed against Consumers' current procedures.
3. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the disclosures honestly — the inflow/outflow mechanics with the flat-spread math, the legacy rules where they apply (personal clock, expansion voids, and the sale-rule conflict with written confirmation offered), and that there's no federal credit and no Consumers battery or production-incentive program.
4. Complete the Welcome Call. Finalizes the sale and sets expectations for installation.

Standing Rules (Do NOT Violate)

• ❌ NEVER coach reps to disqualify based on home tenure. Resale story is real — not "walk away."
• ❌ NEVER claim "all warranties transfer." Workmanship: with written consent. Align: non-transferable. Manufacturer: per OEM terms.
• ❌ NEVER fabricate inspection findings.
• ❌ NEVER quote a bill-reduction factor as a guarantee.
• ❌ NEVER quote a REP buyback rate as fixed/guaranteed — plan-dependent, confirm the customer's actual plan.
• ❌ 85+ confirmation call required. Customer confirms own finances, no POA, sound mind.
• ❌ Financing ends before age 91. 75 → 15-year max. 80 → 10-year max.
• ❌ Honest cancellation window. Overselling = free customer exit + $1K–$1.5K clawback.
• ❌ Certified before selling.

Go get the sale. A battery is a strong product — clean energy, independence, backup, long-term savings, and in Texas real VPP income. A customer who wants one for any honest reason is a good sale. We never walk away over price or low savings — that's the customer's call. Do right by the customer, protect the company, be honest.

PART B — The Deep Reference

1. Orientation

• Utility: Consumers Energy — investor-owned, Michigan PSC-regulated, ~1.9 million electric customers. (Retail choice is fully subscribed C&I — no residential qualifying question needed.)
• Territory: Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, and most of outstate lower Michigan.
• Market type: EXPOSED inflow/outflow (Rule C11.3, billed on the existing schedule — residential default Rate RSP) — outflow at the power-supply energy component (seasonal TOU figures); flat ~9.3¢ spread (~$350/yr); legacy cohort (pre-1/1/2021, personal 10-year clocks, sale rule conflicted); no battery program.
• Default config: backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228); self-consumption ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210).

2. How the Consumers Bill Works

1. Rates (Rate RSP, eff. 5/1/2026, U-21870): System Access charge $8.00/mo; distribution $0.093333/kWh (non-bypassable); energy is seasonal TOU (on-peak 2–7pm weekdays, June–September) — all-in ~19–20¢ at 1,000 kWh, the highest headline in our northern book. The May 2026 step: +$6.46/mo (+6.1%) at 500 kWh.
2. Solar (Rule C11.3): the DG program bills on the customer's existing schedule — no special solar plan exists ("RSP-DG" is not a real rate name). Outflow credits at the power-supply energy component (incl. transmission + PSCR): $0.151904 summer on-peak / $0.103970 summer off-peak / $0.082996 winter (Sheet C-64.30, eff. 5/1/2026); post-2024, credits offset all charges except securitization. Monthly netting; no cash-out.
3. The flat spread: because the outflow credit tracks the energy charge, the self-consumption gap ≈ the $0.093333 distribution charge — flat ~9.3¢ across all periods. ~3,760 kWh/yr shifted ≈ ~$350/yr.
4. Interconnection: $150 DG application fee (the DG-specific portion is ≤$50); Category 1 covers ≤20 kW; AMI/bidirectional meter. Insurance requirements and battery export-configuration specifics are unconfirmed from published procedures — confirmed per install, never assumed.

Why this matters for the pitch: the flat 9.3¢ is the cleanest spread story in Michigan — no TOU gymnastics to promise, no seasonal asterisk, one number that holds whenever the battery serves. And the real-rate-names discipline (C11.3, RSP) is a credibility marker: the customer's own bill confirms us and contradicts the installer who invented "RSP-DG."

3. Solar at Consumers — Real Names, a Flat Spread, and an Honest Conflict

Three corrections define this edition: the rate names are real now, the spread is flat now, and the sale rule is stated as the conflict it actually is.

• The program (Rule C11.3 / MCL 460.1177): DG bills on the existing schedule; outflow at the power-supply energy component; post-PA-235 credits offset all but securitization; monthly netting; no cash-out. Available to new solar since January 1, 2021.
• THE LEGACY COHORT: enrolled before 1/1/2021 → full 1:1 for ten years from the individual enrollment date (MCL 460.1183 + Sheet C-64.20) — personal runways to 2027–2030. Capacity expansion voids it.
• THE SALE-RULE CONFLICT (stated, not adjudicated): Consumers' own move-in process — New Move-in Form + $25 fee — lets a buyer continue the interconnection and inherit the remaining term; the statewide MPSC guidance says legacy status terminates on a move. No published reconciliation exists. The standing rule: both stated, neither asserted, written confirmation from Consumers per customer — especially before a listing. (Contrast discipline: DTE's answer is cleanly "terminates"; Consumers' is genuinely open — never cross-apply.)
• The cap that isn't: PA 235 raised the DG cap to 10%; Consumers' headroom ~79–89% — no scarcity clock exists.
• The rep move (current-DG): "Your credit tracks the energy charge — so the gap is the distribution charge, nine point three cents, flat, every hour. The battery captures it whenever it serves. No timing tricks, no seasonal fine print — one number, off Consumers' own sheet."
• See the "Net Metering & Grandfathering Status" section for the cited detail; the flag for Consumers is EXPOSED (inflow/outflow) with a dated legacy cohort (personal 10-year clocks; sale rule conflicted — written confirmation per deal).

4. Rate Reality + The Flat Spread

What drives the Consumers pitch (named, honest):

1. The flat spread at the highest headline rates. 9.3¢, every hour the battery serves, ~$350/yr — one checkable number.
2. The May step. +6.1% effective two months ago, on top of last year's — the trajectory with docket numbers.
3. The ice. ~260,000 Consumers customers in Feb 2023 — the Consumers-only anchor, freezing and lived.

Documented vs. speculation (say this right):

• ✅ "Your credit tracks the energy charge — the gap is the distribution charge, nine point three cents, flat" (the sheet's own arithmetic)
• ✅ "The DG program bills on your existing rate — for most homes that's Rate RSP, the summer on-peak plan" (real names)
• ✅ "Rates stepped up six point one percent this May, on top of last year's increase" (U-21870/U-21585)
• ✅ "On selling: Consumers' own move-in form says a buyer can inherit your remaining term for $25; the state's guidance says the status ends on a move. Those conflict, and we get your answer in writing" (the conflict, stated straight)
• ❌ "You'll be moved to the RSP-DG plan" (no such rate exists — the customer's bill disproves it)
• ❌ Implying a TOU-varying spread or peak-discharge premium (the credit tracks the charge — the gap is flat)
• ❌ Pitching a "SolarCurrents-style production incentive" (DTE's program — never Consumers'; struck)
• ❌ Asserting either side of the sale-rule conflict unprompted (both documented; neither reconciled)
• ❌ "800,000+ DTE and Consumers" as a Consumers anchor (conflated — the Consumers-only figure is ~260K)
• ❌ Any Michigan tax exemption for new residential solar (neither exists — dead letter)

5. Incentives & Programs

• Consumers battery programs: none — and no production incentive exists. The old guide's "SolarCurrents-style incentive" was a DTE program misattributed to Consumers — struck. The real list: the DG outflow program itself; the Simple Renewable Program (an alternative 6.1¢ outflow arrangement, 150 kW cap, customer keeps RECs — rarely better for residential; mention only if asked); Solar Gardens (community-solar subscription — you buy blocks, it pays nothing); Peak Time Rewards / Smart Thermostat DR ($50 + $25/summer — thermostats, not batteries).
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025. Never quote 30%.
• Michigan tax treatment — the dead-letter corrections: no residential solar sales-tax exemption exists, and no property-tax exemption certificates have been issuable for installs completed after 1983 (MCL 211.7h(9)). The old copy claimed both; both are retired.
• The value is the flat spread + resilience + the takeover.

6. System Rescue Value — The System Takeover

This applies to any customer with existing solar — and it's identical across every Top Tier market. These are takeover facts, not TX-specific.

The Orphaned Solar Customer Problem. Many Texas solar customers installed during the 2019–2024 growth years and now face:

• An original installer that's gone out of business, been acquired, or stopped servicing residential (especially common after the federal tax credit expired Dec 2025)
• A 10-year workmanship warranty that's unenforceable (installer is gone)
• An inverter approaching or past typical failure windows
• No service relationship, and most companies refuse to service systems they didn't install

The Inverter Failure Reality. Inverters are the weakest link. Panels last 25–30 years; the inverter fails much sooner.

• SolarEdge string inverters: 8–15 years (12-yr standard warranty)
• Enphase microinverters: 10–20 years (25-yr warranty)
• Industry-wide: 70–90% of systems experience inverter failure within the panel lifespan
• When it fails on an orphaned system: production stops, bills jump to full retail, most providers won't quote it, out-of-pocket replacement is $3,500–5,000, and the customer is down 4–8 weeks.

What Top Tier's takeover provides (formalized through a Service Warranty Agreement with a brand-new 10-year Limited Workmanship and Roof Penetration Warranty):

• A new 10-year Top Tier workmanship warranty (regardless of system age)
• Manufacturer warranty claim handling (Top Tier chases the claim + labor, not the customer)
• Inverter replacement coverage when it fails within manufacturer warranty (customer pays nothing for the work)
• Single point of contact; monitoring setup help; performance verification at inspection

The $11K System Takeover Bundle (the exact 5-tile bundle on the proposal):

How to use it: "On top of the bill math, you're picking up over $11K of bundled services that aren't sold separately. If your inverter fails in year 12, the warranty handling alone is worth a few hundred; the replacement coordination saves $3–5K; the Align contract is $1,500 you'd otherwise pay. It adds up."

Align Solar Protection — the terms (get these right):

• 5-year term, $0 deductible, insurance-backed by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, non-transferable to subsequent owners.
• Covers: mechanical breakdown of existing PV (panels, inverters/optimizers, racking) — parts, labor, service calls.
• Does NOT cover: the new battery (own warranty), wear-and-tear, weather/hail, pre-existing conditions, roof issues.
• Age limits: panels/microinverters under 15 years; string/central inverters under 7 years. Not every system fully qualifies — disclose at inspection.
• It's ONE of three layers: (1) equipment manufacturer warranties, (2) Top Tier's 10-yr workmanship, (3) the 5-yr Align contract. Never call it "full coverage."
• NEVER say: "Everything's covered" / "never worry again" / "Align is your full coverage" / "you can extend beyond 5 years" / "Align transfers when you sell."

Quantifying the rescue value:

This is independent of bill savings — the rescue alone can be worth $4,000–7,500.

7. Outage Reality — February 2023, at Consumers' Own Number

Why outages happen here. Outstate lower Michigan is ice country with long rural feeders:

• February 2023 ice storm: ~260,000 Consumers customers out — plus ~45,000 more in the February 27 second storm — many homes freezing for most of a week. The Consumers-only anchor (the "800,000+" figure floating around conflates DTE and Consumers; we use ours).
• 2025 northern-Michigan ice storm: severe enough that the state ordered bill credits — referenced honestly without a Consumers-specific count, because none is pinned.
• Long rural feeders mean staged restoration — someone's line is always last, and in February that's a heating emergency.

What a battery does — and the honest mechanism. Grid-tied solar shuts off automatically in an outage (anti-islanding). A battery with backup keeps essential loads running — furnace blower and controls first, refrigerator, well pump, medical devices, connectivity — and recharges from winter sun at reduced rates with load management.

How to pitch it honestly: "A quarter-million Consumers customers froze through most of a week in February 2023 — every solar roof off the whole time. A battery keeps the furnace running — and every ordinary day, it's capturing a flat nine cents on your own power."

8. Hidden Costs Avoided / What You Own vs What You Rent

• What you rent: the highest headline rates in our northern book, stepped up twice in fourteen months — a nine-cent distribution ride on every kilowatt-hour you buy back — and a freezing house when the next ice storm lands.
• What you own (with the battery): your surplus at full replacement value, the flat nine-cent capture every hour it serves — plus a furnace that runs through the storm.
• Hidden costs avoided: the $11K takeover bundle + the donated distribution ride + every winter restoration's real costs.

9. Battery Products

• Backup config (default — ice-storm country): Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh; Redline: $20,500), FranklinWH aPower 2 (15 kWh; Redline: $20,500). Not compatible with HDM.

• Self-consumption config: Enphase IQ 5P (10 kWh; Redline: $15,500 SC / $17,600 BU), SolarEdge Home Battery (9.7 kWh usable; Redline: $14,500 SC / $16,000 BU), SolarEdge Nexis (self-consumption only pending crew backup training; Redline: $15,500 SC).

• Consumers takeaway: size to soak the midday surplus and serve the evening — at a flat 9.3¢ there's no timing premium to chase, just steady capture plus furnace-first winter resilience. Battery export-configuration specifics are confirmed against Consumers' current procedures per install (published procedures don't settle them — we don't assume). For legacy customers, confirm the battery addition doesn't trip the capacity-expansion rule. Confirm cohort and config in the tool.

• Financing terms vary by lender — price deals through the proposal tool.

10. Objection Handling

Universal objections (swap in Consumers figures) + Consumers-specific objections.

"Another installer said I'd be moved to a special solar rate — the RSP-DG plan." (Consumers-specific — the real-names correction)

"There's no such plan — and your own bill will back me up. Consumers' solar program is Rule C11.3, and it bills on whatever rate you already have; for most homes that's Rate RSP, the standard summer on-peak plan everyone's on. Nothing about going solar moves you to a special schedule. When an installer invents a rate name, it's worth asking what else in their quote is invented — our numbers come off Consumers' actual sheets, and I'll show you the sheet."

"The credit looks good at summer peak — shouldn't I game the time-of-use?" (Consumers-specific — the flat-spread honesty)

"It looks that way until you notice the credit and the charge move together — when the energy price is fifteen cents, the outflow credit is fifteen cents. The gap between them is the distribution charge, nine point three cents, and it's flat in every period. So there's no timing trick to sell you — which is honestly the good news: the battery earns the same nine cents whenever it serves, no fine print, no seasonal asterisk, about three hundred fifty dollars a year you can check against the sheet."

"Does my grandfathered net metering transfer if I sell the house?" (Consumers-specific — the conflict, stated straight)

"This is the one question where I'll give you a genuinely honest 'it's contested.' Consumers' own move-in paperwork lets a buyer continue the interconnection for a twenty-five dollar fee and inherit the time remaining on your ten years. The state's published guidance says legacy status ends on a move. Those two things haven't been reconciled anywhere public — so anyone who gives you a clean yes or no is guessing. What we do: before you list, we request written confirmation from Consumers for your specific account. Your buyer's agent gets an answer with a signature on it, not a guess."

"Rates just went up again in May — is this ever going to stop?" (Consumers-specific — the trajectory answer)

"Two steps in fourteen months — last April's increase, then six point one percent this May — and I won't predict the next docket. What I can show you is the arithmetic that doesn't move: the nine-cent distribution charge rides every kilowatt-hour you buy, and a battery is the only thing that takes your own power off that ride. The higher the headline rate climbs, the more the flat nine cents is worth keeping."

"Why is the loan more than the system price?"

"The cash price is $17,000–18,500 depending on config. Service Finance adds dealer fees bringing the financed amount to about $22,068–23,942. Cash or a HELOC is cheaper if that's an option. There's no Consumers rebate and the federal credit expired — the value is the flat nine-cent spread at Michigan's highest rates, the backup, and the takeover."

11. DO SAY / NEVER SAY

12. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings are estimates; Consumers' rates and outflow credits change through MPSC rate cases (most recently effective 5/1/2026) — verify current figures in the tool.
2. ☐ Consumers bills inflow at the customer's existing rate schedule and credits outflow at the power-supply energy component (seasonal TOU figures per Sheet C-64.30), offsetting charges other than securitization; credits carry forward with no cash-out. The battery's bill impact (~$350/yr typical) reflects the flat ~9.3¢ distribution-charge differential.
3. ☐ For legacy net-metering customers (enrolled before January 1, 2021): 1:1 crediting continues for ten years from the individual enrollment date; capacity expansion voids the status. Consumers' move-in process and statewide MPSC guidance conflict regarding transfer at property sale; neither outcome is represented, and written confirmation from Consumers is obtained for the customer's specific account upon request.
4. ☐ Battery additions are configured so as not to constitute a capacity expansion for legacy customers, confirmed against Consumers' current interconnection requirements; insurance and battery export-configuration requirements are confirmed per Consumers' current procedures prior to installation.
5. ☐ Consumers offers no battery rebate, VPP, or residential solar production incentive; no program income is quoted. No federal ITC after 12/31/2025. Michigan provides no residential solar sales-tax exemption, and no property-tax exemption certificates have been issuable for installations completed after 1983.
6. ☐ Interconnection follows Consumers' current requirements ($150 DG application fee; AMI/bidirectional meter; Category 1 for systems ≤20 kW).
7. ☐ Align Solar Protection is non-transferable; workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent; manufacturer warranties transfer per OEM terms. Align coverage is contingent on inspection + age limits (panels <15 yr, inverters <7 yr).
8. ☐ Backup duration depends on system sizing and load; whole-home heating through a multi-day outage is not implied (essential loads including furnace controls/blower are the design basis). Pricing confirmed in the tool before commitment.

13. Quick-Reference Numbers (dated — confirm before quoting)

• Program: Rule C11.3 — bills on the EXISTING schedule; residential default = Rate RSP (TOU, on-peak 2–7pm weekdays Jun–Sep). "RSP-DG" does not exist
• Outflow: $0.151904 summer on-peak / $0.103970 summer off-peak / $0.082996 winter (Sheet C-64.30, eff. 5/1/2026; resets via rate cases) — power-supply energy component incl. transmission + PSCR
• THE SPREAD: FLAT ~9.3¢ (= the $0.093333 non-bypassable distribution charge) — ~$350/yr; no TOU variation
• All-in: ~19–20¢ @1,000 kWh (highest headline in northern book) | System Access: $8.00/mo | May 2026 step: +$6.46/mo (+6.1%), U-21870 (prior: U-21585 eff. 4/4/2025)
• Legacy: enrolled before 1/1/2021 → 1:1 for 10 YEARS FROM INDIVIDUAL ENROLLMENT; expansion voids — ask the enrollment year first
• Sale rule: CONFLICT — move-in form + $25 (buyer inherits remaining term) vs MPSC brief (terminates on move) — state both, assert neither, WRITTEN CONFIRMATION per deal
• DG cap: 10%; Consumers ~79–89% headroom — NOT a clock | Pending: nothing
• Programs: no battery program; no production incentive (SolarCurrents = DTE — struck); Simple Renewable 6.1¢/150 kW (rarely better — only if asked); Solar Gardens = subscription; thermostat DR excludes batteries | Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025 | Taxes: NO sales exemption; NO property exemption post-1983
• Interconnection: $150 DG app fee (DG portion ≤$50); Category 1 ≤20 kW; AMI meter; insurance + battery export-config UNCONFIRMED — confirmed per install
• Inverter replacement out-of-pocket: $3,500–5,000 | Takeover bundle: ~$11,800
• Default config: backup $18,500 / self-consumption $17,000
• Storm anchors: Feb 2023 ice — ~260,000 Consumers (+~45,000 Feb 27 second storm) — the Consumers-only figures; 2025 northern-MI ice storm referenced without a count (none pinned)

14. Sell Hard, Sell Honest — the standing rules

• Real names, always. Rule C11.3, Rate RSP — "RSP-DG" is an invented plan and the customer's bill disproves it; our precision is the differentiator.
• The flat spread is the feature. 9.3¢ every hour — no timing tricks to promise, one checkable number; never imply a TOU premium the sheet doesn't support.
• Ask the enrollment year before pitching a legacy customer — personal clocks, personal runways; never oversell bill savings to 1:1.
• The sale rule is a conflict — sell the honesty. Both sources stated, neither asserted, written confirmation offered; the rep who admits "it's contested" wins the trust the clean-answer rep is gambling with.
• Consumers-only storm numbers — ~260K + ~45K; the conflated 800K figure is retired; the 2025 event gets no invented count.
• No misattributed programs — SolarCurrents is DTE's; Solar Gardens pays nothing; Simple Renewable is rarely better.
• No cap urgency, no program deadline — the honest clocks are the May step, personal runways, and ice.
• Never quote the federal ITC (expired). Never claim a Michigan tax exemption (neither exists for new residential).