Consumers filed its Reliability Roadmap with the MPSC in September 2023, outlining a five-year strategy to improve the electric distribution system. This includes $7 billion in capital expenditures and $1.7 billion in maintenance and operating spending.

Consumers purchased the Covert Generating Station, a natural gas-fueled generating facility, in May 2023 for $810 million.

The 2023 Energy Law requires electric utilities to file plans by 2029 to obtain new energy storage that will contribute to a Michigan target of 2,500 MW. Consumers is required to file updates to its amended renewable energy plan before or in 2025 and its Clean Energy Plan before or in 2027.

Under its Methane Reduction Plan, Consumers has set a goal of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas delivery system by 2030. Consumers plans to reduce methane emissions from its system by about 80 percent, from 2012 baseline levels.

Under its Clean Energy Plan, Consumers has set a goal of net-zero carbon emissions from its electric business by 2040. Consumers expects to meet 90 percent of its customers' needs with clean energy sources by 2040.

Consumers has worked to integrate a set of safety principles into their business operations and culture. Over the last ten years, Consumers' OSHA recordable incident rate has decreased by 20 percent.

Due to its holding company structure, CMS Energy depends on dividends from its subsidiaries to meet its debt service and other payment obligations. If sufficient dividends were not paid to CMS Energy by its subsidiaries, CMS Energy might not be able to generate the funds necessary to fulfill its payment obligations.

Michigan law allows electric customers in Consumers' service territory to buy electric generation service from alternative electric suppliers in an aggregate amount capped at ten percent of Consumers' sales, with certain exceptions. If the ROA limit were increased, this new ROA-like community solar system were allowed, or electric generation service in Michigan were deregulated, it could have a material adverse effect on CMS Energy and Consumers.

CMS Energy and Consumers are subject to rate regulation. Consumers' electric and gas retail rates are set by the MPSC and cannot be changed without regulatory authorization. If rate regulators fail to provide adequate rate relief, it could have a material adverse effect on Consumers or Consumers' plans for making significant capital investments.

Michigan law allows electric customers in Consumers' service territory to buy electric generation service from alternative electric suppliers in an aggregate amount capped at ten percent of Consumers' sales, with certain exceptions. The proportion of Consumers' electric deliveries under the ROA program and on the ROA waiting list is over ten percent.

Michigan law allows customers to use distributed energy resources for their electric energy needs. Increased customer use of distributed energy resources could result in a reduction of Consumers' electric sales.

NorthStar Clean Energy competes with other independent power producers. The needs of this market are driven by electric demand and the generation available.

Consumers filed its Reliability Roadmap with the MPSC in September 2023, outlining a five-year strategy to improve the electric distribution system. This includes investments in infrastructure upgrades, forestry management, and grid modernization.

Consumers plans to spend $13.6 billion over the next five years primarily to maintain and upgrade its electric distribution systems and gas infrastructure in order to enhance safety and reliability, improve customer satisfaction, reduce energy waste on those systems, and facilitate its clean energy transformation.

Under its Methane Reduction Plan, Consumers has set a goal of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas delivery system by 2030. Consumers plans to reduce methane emissions from its system by about 80 percent, from 2012 baseline levels.

Consumers' Clean Energy Plan provides the foundation for its goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from its electric business by 2040. New technologies and carbon offset measures including, but not limited to, carbon sequestration, methane emission capture, forest preservation, and reforestation may be used to close the gap to achieving net-zero carbon emissions.

Consumers plans to deploy battery storage beginning in 2024, with 75 MW of energy storage expected by 2027 and an additional 475 MW by 2040.

Consumers' Natural Gas Delivery Plan includes accelerated infrastructure replacements, innovative leak detection technology, and process changes to reduce or eliminate methane emissions.

Consumers filed its Reliability Roadmap with the MPSC in September 2023, outlining a five-year strategy to improve the electric distribution system. This includes $7 billion in capital expenditures and $1.7 billion in maintenance and operating spending.

The 2023 Energy Law requires electric utilities to file plans by 2029 to obtain new energy storage that will contribute to a Michigan target of 2,500 MW. Consumers is required to file updates to its amended renewable energy plan before or in 2025 and its Clean Energy Plan before or in 2027.

During 2023, CMS Energy purchased these Consumers' first mortgage bonds for $293 million. On a consolidated basis, CMS Energy's repurchase of Consumers' first mortgage bonds was accounted for as a debt extinguishment and resulted in a pre-tax gain of $131 million.

Consumers' Clean Energy Plan provides the foundation for its goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from its electric business by 2040. This goal includes not only emissions from owned generation, but also emissions from the generation of power purchased through long-term PPAs and from the MISO energy market.

Under its Methane Reduction Plan, Consumers has set a goal of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas delivery system by 2030. Consumers plans to reduce methane emissions from its system by about 80 percent, from 2012 baseline levels.

CMS Energy's and Consumers' commitment to protecting the environment extends to advancing the principles of environmental justice in current and future operations. These principles center on protecting communities impacted by the companies' operations, especially those communities that are most vulnerable and may have suffered disparate impacts of environmental harm.

In November 2023, Michigan enacted the 2023 Energy Law, which raises the renewable energy standard to 50 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2035 and creates a new energy storage standard.

Over the next five years, Consumers expects weather-normalized electric and gas deliveries to remain relatively stable compared to 2023. This outlook reflects the effects of energy waste reduction programs offset by modest growth in electric and gas demand.

CMS Energy, Consumers, and their subsidiaries are subject to various federal, state, and local environmental regulations for solid waste management, air and water quality, and other matters. Consumers expects to recover costs to comply with environmental regulations in customer rates but cannot guarantee this result.