Emergency Response

We are immensely proud of our more than 8,000 employees, who are working each day to keep electricity and natural gas flowing for Michigan during this challenging time. Here are just a few ways we’re equipping and enabling our co-workers to achieve world class performance and deliver hometown service for you:

• Supporting front-line workers with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies, allowing the use of company vehicles to report to work directly from home, and providing safe work practices to go into customer homes.
• Sequestering employees with critical energy roles to keep them – and their families – safe.
• Disinfecting company facilities where we’ve identified an exposure risk.
• Reducing risk by empowering roughly half of our workforce to continue their jobs remotely.
• Granting eligibility for paid leave of absence (PLOA) to any quarantined employee and modifying our policy to provide PLOA to care for others before using vacation benefits.
• Maintaining regular, transparent communication through “live leader” calls with our CEO and senior team.
• Creating a mental well-being team to assist employees dealing with anxiety, isolation, fear and other challenges related to COVID-19.
• Delivering the latest COVID-19 news and safety measures through multiple channels, including a dedicated intranet page and mobile app.
• Allowing employees to adjust dependent care savings accounts to cover unanticipated, increased childcare expenses.
• Covering all COVID-19-related medical costs through health insurance.
• Developing guidelines to help contractors and vendors in our supply chain operate safely, legally and effectively while navigating COVID-19-related concerns.

• The Food Bank Council of Michigan fills gaps where schools are unable to provide food for children and those who need food for their families but cannot work due to COVID-19; as well as produce 5,000 quarantine boxes for isolated and home-bound senior citizens, each containing a 7-day supply of nutritionally-balanced, shelf-stable food.
• Michigan State University develop an innovative process to decontaminate personal protection masks, alleviating the shortage of safety equipment for health care professionals.
• Michigan small businesses, particularly female and minority-owned businesses, succeed by providing grants to nine organizations. Grant recipients will provide funding directly to small businesses in their communities.
• The Michigan Association of United Ways support the Michigan 211 system and United Way organizations across Michigan deploying emergency response activities in local communities, including ensuring sustainability to nonprofits so the organizations can continue addressing basic needs.
• Community Foundations across Michigan support local partnerships, front line nonprofits, United Ways and others addressing the needs within their communities.
• Match any Consumers Energy employee donations to food banks/pantries, homeless shelters, community foundations and the United Way through May 31, 2020.