To resume the mailing of individual copies of future Proxy Materials or Notice of Availability and revoke your consent to householding, submit a written request to Broadridge Householding Dept., 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, New York 11717, or make a request by telephone to 1-866-540-7095. If you participate in householding and wish to receive separate Proxy Materials or Notices of Availability, we will promptly mail a copy if you notify us by making a written request to our Shareowner Services Department at One Energy Plaza, Jackson, Michigan 49201, or making a request by telephone to 1-517-788-1576.
If your shares are held in street name, you can request information about householding by contacting your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee.
Who conducts the proxy solicitation and how much will it cost?
We are requesting your proxy for the Annual Meeting and will pay the costs of requesting shareholder proxies. Proxies may be solicited by Directors, officers and other employees, personally or by telephone, Internet or mail, none of whom will receive compensation for their solicitation efforts. We have arranged for D.F. King to solicit proxies for a fee of $15,000, plus expenses and disbursements. We will pay all proxy solicitation costs. We may also reimburse brokerage firms, dealers, banks, voting trustees or other record holders for their reasonable expenses for forwarding Proxy Materials to beneficial owners of CMS and Consumers stock.
How can I attend the Virtual Annual Meeting?
Our Annual Meeting will be a virtual meeting. There will be no physical meeting location; the meeting will be conducted via webcast. The virtual meeting increases attendance by providing Annual Meeting access to all of our shareholders, regardless of where they live. Additionally, in-line with CE Way and our use of Lean strategies, the virtual meeting format eliminates waste and reduces costs associated with hosting an in-person meeting. The virtual meeting also provides opportunities to reduce carbon emissions related to travel for in-person meetings.
Any shareholder as of March 4, 2025 may participate in the Annual Meeting by logging in at virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMS2025 for CMS shareholders and virtualshareholdermeeting.com/CMSPB2025 for Consumers shareholders. You must enter the control number found on your proxy card, voting instruction form or the Notice of Availability you previously received. If you misplaced your control number, or are not a shareholder, you may access the Annual Meeting by logging in as a guest, but you will not be able to vote, ask questions or inspect the list of shareholders.
We encourage you to log in to the Annual Meeting website and access the webcast early, beginning approximately 15 minutes before the Annual Meeting start time. If you experience technical difficulties, please contact the technical support telephone number on the Annual Meeting log-in page.
Shareholders may vote and submit proxies in advance of the Annual Meeting by one of the methods described in the Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting or electronically vote during the Annual Meeting by following the instructions available on the applicable meeting website during the Annual Meeting. During the meeting, shareholder attendees will be able to inspect the list of shareholders.
How can I ask a question before or during the Annual Meeting?
Shareholders can ask questions prior to the meeting by visiting proxyvote.com. This allows all shareholders the opportunity to ask questions, regardless of whether they can attend the meeting and allows us to provide thoughtful responses to each question asked. Additionally, during the Annual Meeting, shareholder attendees will be able to submit questions. Responses to all appropriate questions will be posted on our website as soon as practicable after questions are received, addressed by Rochow during the Annual Meeting, and/or posted on our website no later than a week after the Annual Meeting.
