Consumers Energy wins $20M grant for EV meter project | Crain's Detroit Business

David Eggert is a senior reporter covering politics and policy for Crain’s Detroit Business. He joined Crain’s in 2022 after a combined 15 years at The Associated Press in Lansing and jobs at MLive, the Lansing State Journal and various other newspapers.

The U.S. Energy Department on Friday chose Consumers Energy to receive almost $20 million to add artificial intelligence-powered technology to 18,000 meters used by customers with electric vehicles.

The grant is among nearly $2 billion for 38 projects across 42 states.

The Jackson-based company and Michigan's second-largest power utility said it will match the $19.9 million federal commitment; adding modules to the meters, likely in 2026, to provide real-time data analytics and predictions to better understand EVs' impact on the grid.

The project will help Consumers improve EV identification, management and planning, and boost the grid's capacity to handle EV demand and integrate chargers, according to the Energy Department.

"Consumers Energy is building a stronger grid and a smarter one that will seamlessly power the next generation of clean vehicles," Lauren Snyder, Consumers' vice president of customer experience, said in a statement. "This allows us to quickly put the latest in technology to work, as we accommodate growing numbers of EVs parked in driveways across our state."

The $10.5 billion Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program is funded through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. So far, $7.6 billion has been announced across two rounds of selections.

Consumers will partner with AI tech company Utilidata to deploy the custom modules. Utilidata is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, has a facility in Ann Arbor and collaborates with Novi-based Brooks Utility Products.

More than half of the devices will be placed on EV owners' meters in economically disadvantaged communities.

"Utilidata is proud to expand our presence in Michigan by partnering with industry leader Consumers Energy," said Utilidata President and Chief Operating Officer Jess Melanson. "Utilidata's distributed AI technology will equip Consumers Energy with the tools needed to integrate more distributed energy resources and ensure the electric grid is efficient and reliable for their customers."

In the first round of funding announcements a year ago, Consumers was chosen for a $100 million grant to harden the backbone of its circuit systems and increase capacity at local substations in disadvantaged and underserved communities.

Detroit-based DTE Energy got $22.9 million to lay the foundation for a 100% renewable "adaptive networked microgrid" — work aimed at reducing outages, increasing the use of renewable electricity sources and cutting diesel usage.