Author: hannah

Friday, October 14, 2022 

Contact: Kelli Schroeder Customer & Employee Relations Manager, 231-932-4545,kschroeder@tclp.org 

Traverse City, MI. – Traverse City Light and Power (TCLP) awards three local agencies funds from the TCLP Community Investment Program. This year’s Community Investment Program awardees are Habitat for Humanity, TC Central High School SEA Club, and SEEDS. The following submissions were approved at the Tuesday, October 11, 2022, TCLP Board meeting: 

• Habitat for Humanity – request in the amount of $20,000 for the Priority Home Repair Program, with grant funds applied to home repair requests from qualified homeowners in TCLP’s service territory.  
• TC Central High School SEA Club – request in the amount of $8,635 to establish a native wildflower pollinator garden under the existing solar arrays along M-72 which currently serves the TCLP system.  
• SEEDS – request in the amount of $14,730 for an Eco-Learning and Compost Demonstration at the Historic Barn Park, specifically to support the installation of the Earth Cube Composter and relevant training. The Barns Park is owned by the City of Traverse City and Garfield Township Recreational Authority, with this project providing composting and compost education in Traverse City.  

“We are excited to award funds and assist these organizations with their projects and programs,” said Board Vice Chairperson Elysha Davila. “TCLP is a community-owned utility that has a responsibility to invest its resources back into the community it serves.” 

The Community Investment Fund assists non-profit organizations, focusing on three key areas: Community Development, Energy-Related Educational Programs, and Natural Resources/Environment. Grant applications are accepted two times per year from the period of May 1 – July 31 and from November 1 – January 31.  

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Traverse City Light & Power (www.tclp.org) is a community-owned, community-focused municipal utility that offers reliable energy at low rates in the region to over 12,700 customers in Traverse City, and parts of East Bay, Elmwood, Garfield, and Peninsula townships. Now offering TCLPfiber, an all-fiber, gigabit internet service.  

For Immediate Release: 

City of Traverse City Utility Bill Separation Coming December 2022

One Bill Becomes Two

Going into effect with the December 2022 billing cycle, utility customers with the City of Traverse City will receive a water/sewer bill from the City and an electric and TCLPfiber (for those who have subscribed) bill from Traverse City Light & Power.  The current bill that contains all utilities on one, will become two. 

Both entities are upgrading to new utility billing systems with increased user-friendly customer portals and service offerings. The separation of the billing systems will create operational efficiencies and ease of the customer’s ability to read and understand their utility usage.

“TCLP’s goal is to offer excellent customer service,” said TCLP Executive Director Brandie Ekren. “Not only will the new billing systems improve the customer’s ability to read and understand usage, the enhanced functionality is foundational in our drive to improve the customer experience.”

In Person Payments

Payments may be made at each respective location, i.e. City of Traverse City Treasurer office (400 Boardman Avenue) and TCLP Service Center (1131 Hastings Street). Each location will continue to have drop box.

Payment by Mail

Payments will need to be separate and directed to each respective location.

Automatic Payment

Customers that currently are on the automatic payment program will continue. However, customers will need to re-enroll in both the City customer portal and TCLP’s customer portal.

“The City and TCLP are working together to make the utility bill separation transition as efficient as possible,” says City Manager Marty Colburn. “The upgraded utility systems for both entities will continue to improve the customer experience and offer more opportunities for payment options, and the ability to better monitor consumption.”

The first cycle of separated utility bills will come in the mail for all customers. There will be no electronic statements. Instructions will be included on how to read your bill as well as how to enroll in the new customer portals.

To learn more, visit traversecitymi.gov/utility-bill-separation.html

Contact: 

Marty Colburn, City Manager

(231) 922-4440

tcmanage@traversecitymi.gov

Contact: 

Brandie Ekren, TCLP Executive Director

(231) 932-4545

website@tclp.org

Issued: October 13, 2022

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TRAVERSE CITY, MI. – Traverse City Light and Power (TCL&P) is elated on last week’s announcement that that the City of Traverse City was honored with the Michigan Green Communities Gold Certification, an annual program that serves as a guide to help communities measure progress towards sustainability.

“TCL&P is committed to supporting the City in achieving their 100% renewable energy goal,” said TCL&P Executive Director Brandie Ekren. “Both the City and TCL&P are moving down a path to a more sustainable future.”

To date, TCL&P’s efforts in supporting the City’s green initiative have included:

• 100% of the revenues generated from the Voluntary Green Pricing (VGP) Program have been set aside for City of Traverse City internal energy efficiency projects.
• Finding renewable energy sources, such as the Assembly Solar II and M-72 Solar I, whose output has been solely designated towards the City in achieving their 100% renewable energy goal. This equates to 8.6MW of renewable generation.
• Installation of an EV Charging Station Network throughout the City, which included receipt of a $173,763 grant from EGLE, to help reduce the community’s carbon footprint.

“The efforts of staff, the elected officials and the community towards a clean energy future are coming to fruition, and TCL&P is proud to be a part of it,” said Ekren.

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Traverse City Light & Power (www.tclp.org) is a community-owned, community-focused municipal utility that offers reliable energy at low rates in the region to over 12,900 customers in Traverse City, and parts of East Bay, Elmwood, Garfield and Peninsula townships. Now offering TCLPfiber, an all-fiber, gigabit internet service.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Contact: Kelli Schroeder, Manager of HR & Communications, 231-932-4545, kschroeder@tclp.org

TRAVERSE CITY, MI.– Traverse City Light and Power (TCL&P) is now accepting Community Investment Fund Grant Applications for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year.  Applications will be accepted until July 31, 2022.

As a public power utility, TCL&P is committed to investing in the community we serve. The vision of the Community Investment Fund is to enhance the quality of life in the Traverse City area with charitable contributions focused on projects and programs in three key areas: Community Development, Energy-Related Education, and Natural Resources/Environmental.

The requesting organization must reside in the Traverse City area, be non-profit and operate for public purposes. For more information on the Community Investment Fund along with the application and submission requirements. visit “Utility Forms” under “About L&P” at www.tclp.org.

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Traverse City Light & Power (www.tclp.org) is a community-owned, community-focused municipal utility that offers reliable energy at low rates in the region to over 12,700 customers in Traverse City, and parts of East Bay, Elmwood, Garfield and Peninsula townships. Now offering TCLPfiber, an all-fiber, gigabit internet service.

April 7, 2022

E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) in partnership with Ranger Power, a Chicago-based utility-scale solar development company has announced the completion and commercial operation of the Assembly II Solar Project in Shiawassee County. This project, in addition to Assembly Solar I (completed in 2020), makes up the largest installed solar array in Michigan. Traverse City Light and Power (TCL&P) is proud to be a part of the Assembly II Project, which will generate enough energy to power 22,500 Michigan homes each year, according to the project’s developers in a recent press release.

TCL&P works collectively with other municipally owned utilities through the Michigan Public Power Agency (MPPA), a not-for-profit joint action agency, to share energy supply and related services to lower costs, reduce risks, and leverage expertise. Through MPPA, TCL&P joins 13 other Michigan communities in this exciting renewable project. “The Assembly Solar Project is part of MPPA’s continued commitment to clean, safe, and affordable energy for the residents and businesses we serve throughout Michigan,” said Patrick Bowland, chief executive officer of MPPA. MPPA, through the support and commitment of its Member communities, has executed approximately $1 billion toward the purchase of renewable energy in the last decade to help its Members achieve their environmental goals.

 “TCL&P is pleased to partner with other municipal utilities in Michigan through MPPA to provide our customers with reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible power supply through a diversified portfolio of resources,” said Brandie Ekren, TCL&P Executive Director. “As a Public Power utility, we’re proud to be able to offer our community with rates that are, across Michigan, an average of 25% less than non-community owned utilities. Projects like Assembly Solar help to ensure our services remain affordable.” TCL&P began providing electricity to local residents and businesses 110 years ago and is community-owned and operated.

Michigan Public Power Agency
517-523-8919
www.mpower.org

Monday, April 4, 2022

Contact: Kelli Schroeder, Manager of HR & Communications, 231-932-4545, kschroeder@tclp.org

Information: Tobias Sellier, American Public Power Association, MediaRelations@PublicPower.org

TRAVERSE CITY, MI. – Traverse City Light & Power (TCL&P) has received national recognition for achieving exceptional electric reliability in 2021. The recognition comes from the American Public Power Association (APPA), a trade group that represents more than 2,000 not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities.

APPA helps electric utilities track power outage and restoration data through its subscription-based eReliability Tracker service. Once per year, APPA’s Reliability Team compares this data to national statistics tracked by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for all types of electric utilities.

“Once again, public power utilities have demonstrated their commitment to providing highly reliable power to their customers.” said Alex Hofmann, APPA’s Vice President of Technical and Operations Services. “We commend these utilities for their hard work when it comes to keeping the lights on in their communities.”

Nationwide, the average public power customer has their lights out for less than half the amount of time that customers of other types of utilities do.

“The entire TCL&P team (ranging from its Board and Executive Leadership to Employees, both in the office and in the field) is honored and proud to receive this recognition. It is a testament to our commitment to be an industry influencer as we keep Traverse City powered and connected,” said Brandie Ekren, TCL&P Executive Director.

TCL&P has been committed to increasing reliability with system improvement projects that have included the West Side Transmission Line Upgrade, construction of the south substation and adding new breakers to both the Barlow and Parson substations. For 2022, the utility will be upgrading the Barlow to Parsons Transmission Line in addition to other smaller projects.  

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Traverse City Light & Power (www.tclp.org) is a community-owned, community-focused municipal utility that offers reliable energy at low rates in the region to over 12,700 customers in Traverse City, and parts of East Bay, Elmwood, Garfield and Peninsula townships. Now offering TCLPfiber, an all-fiber, gigabit internet service.