Michigan currently has some of the highest energy prices in the Midwest. Our congested and inadequate transmission grid forces consumers to buy more expensive power while keeping cleaner, more affordable alternatives out of the market.

We rely on energy everyday to power our lives. But our frail transmission grid is only as strong as its weakest interconnected link - as demonstrated by the 2003 blackout. Energy is an important commodity upon which we as a society have become increasingly dependent. While extremely important, we don’t always think about how energy is generated, transported and delivered to our homes and businesses. However, most would probably agree that they want energy that is reliable, secure, affordable, and allows cleaner forms.

The utility infrastructure that helps achieve these objectives is the transmission grid, which has experienced decades of underinvestment and is now being pushed to operate in ways for which it was not designed. The electric industry is debating what new transmission should be built and how should it be paid for.

The larger consideration is this: If we want Michigan to be competitive, we need to level the playing field when it comes to energy prices.

The long-term benefits of regional power transmission will far offset the tiny portion of a resident’s electric bill -- less than a dollar a month -- to be allocated to modernizing our grid. As with any program that brings competition to the market, Michigan residents can expect to see savings on their electric bills once the state is opened to lower-cost sources of energy.

When you want to control costs in any process, you look for areas of greatest expense. Electric generation by utilities makes up about two-thirds of a consumer electric bill - the portion that a competitive wholesale market will shrink while making the power grid more efficient, stable and secure. In contrast, electric transmission accounts for only 7 percent of the average electric bill (just 4 percent here in Michigan), yet provides tremendous value by allowing access to competitive wholesale markets, promoting competition and lowering prices for electric generation.

The large Michigan utilities naturally oppose a recently approved regional transmission cost sharing proposal because it will allow a regional transmission grid to be built, resulting in a competitive interstate energy market that will provide access to a variety of lower cost generation sources that Michigan cannot provide.

Critics of this plan will also have you believe that consumers in Michigan are paying an unfair portion of the cost of this regional transmission investment. The fact is each consumer in Michigan will pay the exact same amount per kilowatt hour as any other consumer in the Midwest region. Consumers only pay based on the power they consume.

The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (Midwest ISO), a voluntary regional transmission organization to which Michigan utilities belong, received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in December 2010 on a cost allocation proposal for new transmission facilities in the Midwest.

Under the proposal, consideration for inter-regional transmission planning is required and each region benefitting from the line will pay its proportionate share of the cost. Michigan customers are being asked to invest an equal amount as every other customer across the Midwest ISO region for projects that provide a more reliable power grid, open energy markets to more competition, and support public policy objectives.

A free market means having access to the best products and services at the lowest cost. That’s capitalism -- and what this plan is about. It will open Michigan to increased competition, access to more diverse and affordable sources of energy, and lower costs. A 21st century energy model starts with a robust electric transmission grid that will deliver increased reliability and energy savings for Michigan residents, as well economic viability for all Americans. No matter what generation sources we want to tap into - clean coal, renewables, nuclear, or natural gas - to bring them to the market, we must have a reliable, modernized transmission system.

Gregory Ioanidis is the president of ITC Michigan. ITC Holdings is the largest independent electricity transmission company in the country, ITC operates high-voltage transmission systems in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas, according to its website.