OR

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _____to_____

Certain terms used in the text and financial statements are defined below.

2016 Energy Law

Michigan’s Public Acts 341 and 342 of 2016, which became effective in April 2017

20182019 Form 10‑K

Each of CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the year ended December 31, 20182019

ABATE

The Association of Businesses Advocating Tariff Equity

ARO

Asset retirement obligation

ASU

Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Update

Bay Harbor

A residential/commercial real estate area located near Petoskey, Michigan, in which CMS Energy sold its interest in 2002

bcf

Billion cubic feet

Cantera Gas Company

Cantera Gas Company LLC, a non‑affiliated company, formerly known as CMS Field Services

Cantera Natural Gas, Inc.

Cantera Natural Gas, Inc., a non‑affiliated company that purchased CMS Field Services

CCR

Coal combustion residual

CEO

Chief Executive Officer

CERCLA

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended

CFO

Chief Financial Officer

Clean Air Act

Federal Clean Air Act of 1963, as amended

Clean Energy Plan

Clean Water Act

Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, as amended

CMS Energy

CMS Energy Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise noted; the parent of Consumers, and CMS Enterprises, and EnerBank

CMS Enterprises

CMS Enterprises Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Energy

CMS Field Services

CMS Field Services, Inc., a former wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Gas Transmission Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Enterprises

CMS Land

CMS Land Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Capital, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Energy

CMS MST

CMS Marketing, Services and Trading Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Enterprises, whose name was changed to CMS ERMEnergy Resource Management Company in 2004

Consumers

Consumers Energy Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise noted; a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Energy

CSAPR

The Cross‑State Air Pollution Rule of 2011, as amended

DB Pension Plans

Defined benefit pension plans of CMS Energy and Consumers, including certain present and former affiliates and subsidiaries

DB SERP

Defined Benefit Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan

DIG

Dearborn Industrial Generation, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dearborn Industrial Energy, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Energy

Dodd‑Frank Act

Dodd‑Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, formerly known as the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

EnerBank

EnerBank USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Capital,

energy waste reduction

The reduction of energy consumption through energy efficiency and demand‑side energy conservation, as established under the 2016 Energy Law

EPA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPS

Earnings per share

Exchange Act

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

FDIC

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

FERC

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

FTR

Financial transmission right

GAAP

U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

GCR

Gas cost recovery

Integrated resource plan

kWh

Kilowatt‑hour, a unit of energy equal to one thousand watt‑hours

LIBOR

The London Interbank Offered Rate

Ludington

Ludington pumped‑storagepumped-storage plant, jointly owned by Consumers and DTE Electric Company, a non‑affiliated company

MATS

Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, which limit mercury, acid gases, and other toxic pollution from coal‑fueled and oil‑fueled power plants

MCV Partnership

Midland Cogeneration Venture Limited Partnership

MCV PPA

PPA between Consumers and the MCV Partnership

MD&A

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

METC

Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC, a non‑affiliated company

MGP

Manufactured gas plant

Michigan Mercury Rule

Michigan Air Pollution Control Rules of 2009, as amended, Part 15: Emission Limitations and Prohibitions – Prohibitions—Mercury

MISO

Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.

mothball

To place a generating unit into a state of extended reserve shutdown in which the unit is inactive and unavailable for service for a specified period, during which the unit can be brought back into service after receiving appropriate notification and completing any necessary maintenance or other work; generation

owners in MISO must request approval to mothball a unit, and MISO then evaluates the request for reliability impacts

MPSC

Michigan Public Service Commission

MW

Megawatt, a unit of power equal to one million watts

NAAQS

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

NPDES

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, a permit system for regulating point sources of pollution under the Clean Water Act

NREPA

Part 201 of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act of 1994, as amended

NSR

New Source Review, a construction‑permitting program under the Clean Air Act

OPEB

Other Post‑Employment Benefits

OPEB Plan

Postretirement health care and life insurance plans of CMS Energy and Consumers, including certain present and former affiliates and subsidiaries

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

PCB

Polychlorinated biphenyl

PHMSA

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

PPA

Power purchase agreement

PSCR

Power supply cost recovery

PURPA

The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978

RCRA

The Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976

REC

Renewable energy credit

ROA

Retail Open Access, which allows electric generation customers to choose alternative electric suppliers pursuant to Michigan’s Public Acts 141 and 142 of 2000, as amended

SEC

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

securitization

A financing method authorized by statute and approved by the MPSC which allows a utility to sell its right to receive a portion of the rate payments received from its customers for the repayment of securitization bonds issued by a special‑purpose entity affiliated with such utility

Smart Energy

Consumers’ Smart Energy grid modernization project, which includes the installation of smart meters that transmit and receive data, a two‑way communications network, and modifications to Consumers’ existing information technology system to manage the data and enable changes to key business processes

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

Variable interest entity in which HYDRA‑CO Enterprises, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Enterprises, has a 50‑percent interest

Filing Format

This combined Form 10‑Q is separately filed by CMS Energy and Consumers. Information in this combined Form 10‑Q relating to each individual registrant is filed by such registrant on its own behalf. Consumers makes no representation regarding information relating to any other companies affiliated with CMS Energy other than its own subsidiaries. None of CMS Energy, CMS Enterprises, EnerBank, nor any of CMS Energy’s other subsidiaries (other than Consumers) has any obligation in respect of Consumers’ debt securities and holders of such debt securities should not consider the financial resources or results of operations of CMS Energy, CMS Enterprises, EnerBank, nor any of CMS Energy’s other subsidiaries (other than Consumers and its own subsidiaries (in relevant circumstances)) in making a decision with respect to Consumers’ debt securities. Similarly, neither Consumers nor any other subsidiary of CMS Energy has any obligation in respect of debt securities of CMS Energy.

This report should be read in its entirety. No one section of this report deals with all aspects of the subject matter of this report. This report should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes and with MD&A included in the 20182019 Form 10‑K.

Available Information

CMS Energy’s internet address is www.cmsenergy.com. CMS Energy routinely posts important information on its website and considers the Investor Relations section, www.cmsenergy.com/investor‑relations, a channel of distribution. Information contained on CMS Energy’s website is not incorporated herein.

Forward‑Looking Statements and Information

This Form 10‑Q and other CMS Energy and Consumers disclosures may contain forward‑looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The use of “might,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “predicts,” “assumes,” and other similar words is intended to identify forward‑looking statements that involve risk and uncertainty. This discussion of potential risks and uncertainties is designed to highlight important factors that may impact CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ businesses and financial outlook. CMS Energy and Consumers have no obligation to update or revise forward‑looking statements regardless of whether new information, future events, or any other factors affect the information contained in the statements. These forward‑looking statements are subject to various factors that could cause CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated in these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following, all of which are potentially significant:

All forward‑looking statements should be considered in the context of the risk and other factors described above and as detailed from time to time in CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ SEC filings. For additional details regarding these and other uncertainties, see Part I—Item 1. Financial Statements—MD&A—Outlook and Notes to the Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements—Note 2, Regulatory Matters and Note 3, Contingencies and Commitments; and Part II—Item 1A. Risk Factors.

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This MD&A is a combined report of CMS Energy and Consumers.

Executive Overview

CMS Energy is an energy company operating primarily in Michigan. It is the parent holding company of several subsidiaries, including Consumers, an electric and gas utility, andutility; CMS Enterprises, primarily a domestic independent power producer and marketer.marketer; and EnerBank, an industrial bank located in Utah. Consumers’ electric utility operations include the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity, and Consumers’ gas utility operations include the purchase, transmission, storage, distribution, and sale of natural gas. Consumers’ customer base consists of a mix of residential, commercial, and diversified industrial customers. CMS Enterprises, through its subsidiaries and equity investments, is engaged in domestic independent power production, including the development and operation of renewable generation, and the marketing of independent power production. EnerBank provides primarily unsecured, fixed-rate installment loans throughout the U.S. to finance home improvements.

CMS Energy and Consumers manage their businesses by the nature of services each provides. CMS Energy operates principally in threefour business segments: electric utility; gas utility; and enterprises, its non‑utility operations and investments.investments; and EnerBank. Consumers operates principally in two business segments: electric utility and gas utility. CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ businesses are affected primarily by:

CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ purpose is to achieve world class performance while delivering hometown service. In support of this purpose, the companies employ the “Consumers Energy Way,” a lean operating model designed to improve safety, quality, cost, delivery, and employee morale.

CMS Energy and Consumers measure their progress toward the purpose by considering their impact on the “triple bottom line” of people, planet, and profit, which is underpinned by performance; this consideration takes into account not only the economic value that the companies create for customers and investors, but also their responsibility to social and environmental goals. The triple bottom line balances the interests of the companies’ employees, customers, suppliers, regulators, creditors, Michigan’s residents, the investment community, and other stakeholders, and it reflects the broader societal impacts of the companies’ activities.

Consumers’ Sustainability Report, which is available to the public, describes the company’s progress toward world class performance measured in the areas of people, planet, and profit.

The safety of employees, customers, and the general public is a priority of CMS Energy and Consumers. Accordingly, CMS Energy and Consumers have worked to integrate a set of safety principles into their business operations and culture. These principles include complying with applicable safety, health, and security regulations and implementing programs and processes aimed at continually improving safety and security conditions. Over the last ten years, Consumers’ OSHA recordable incident rate has decreased by over 7063 percent.

CMS Energy and Consumers also place a high priority on customer value and on providing a hometown customer experience. Consumers’ customer-driven investment program is aimed at improving safety and increasing electric and gas reliability, which has resulted in measurable improvements in customer satisfaction.

Central to Consumers’ commitment to its customers are the initiatives it has undertaken to keep electricity and natural gas affordable, including:

In addition, Consumers’ gas commodity costs declined by 6062 percent from 20082009 through 2018,2019, due not only to a decrease in market prices but also to Consumers’ improvements to its gas infrastructure and

optimization of its gas purchasing and storage strategy. These gas commodity savings are passed on to customers.

CMS Energy and Consumers continue to focus on opportunities to protect the environment and to reduce their carbon footprint. As a result of actions already taken by CMS Energy and Consumers, including the retirement of seven of Consumers’ coal-fueled electric generating units in 2016, the companies have:

Additionally, over the last 20 years, Consumers has reduced its sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and mercury emissions by over 90 percent.

The 2016 Energy Law:

Consumers filed an IRP with the MPSC in June 2018, detailing its “Clean Energy Plan,” its long‑term strategy for delivering reliable and affordable energy to its customers through the increased use of energy efficiency and customer demand management programs and additional renewable energy. In March 2019, Consumers and a broad coalition of key stakeholders, including business customers, environmental groups, the MPSC Staff, and the Michigan Attorney General, filed an agreement settling the IRP with the MPSC and the MPSC approved itthe IRP that Consumers filed in June 2019.

Presented in the following illustration is Consumers’ 2019 generationcapacity portfolio and its future capacity portfolio as projected in the IRP. This illustration includes the effects of purchased capacity and projected futureenergy waste reduction and uses the nameplate capacity of renewable energy sources:

In September 2020, Michigan’s Governor signed an executive order creating the Michigan Healthy Climate Plan, which outlines goals for Michigan to achieve economy-wide net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and to be carbon neutral by 2050. The executive order aims for a 28-percent reduction below 2005 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Consumers has already surpassed the 28-percent reduction milestone in its electric business and previously announced, in February 2020, a goal of achieving net‑zero carbon emissions by 2040. As part of this net-zero goal, Consumers will significantly reduce its carbon emissions from its electric business and offset any remaining emissions through strategies including, but not limited to, carbon sequestration, landfill methane capture, and large-scale tree planting. The goal includes not only emissions from Consumers’ owned generation, capacity in 2030but also emissions from the generation of power purchased through long-term PPAs and 2040, including purchased capacity, based on a variety of fuel sources:

In addition to Consumers’ efforts to reduce the electric utility’s carbon footprint, it is also making efforts to reduce the gas utility’s methane footprint. In October 2019, Consumers set a goal of net-zeronet‑zero methane emissions from its natural gas delivery system by 2030. ToConsumers’ Methane Reduction Plan, released in November 2019, outlines its plan to reach this goal,net-zero emissions goal. Consumers plans to reduce methane emissions from its system by about 80 percent by accelerating the replacement of aging pipe,

rehabilitating or retiring outdated infrastructure, and to offset itsadopting new technologies and practices. The remaining emissions will be eliminated by purchasing and/or producing renewable natural gas. Consumers plans to release its Methane Reduction Plan, which will outline its plan to reach this net-zero emissions goal, in November 2019.

Additionally, in an effort to advance its environmental stewardship in Michigan and to minimize the impact of future regulations, Consumers announced the following five‑year targets during 2018:

CMS Energy, through its non‑utility businesses,CMS Enterprises, continues to pursue further opportunities for the development of renewable generation projects. In July 2020, CMS Enterprises has completed the development of and

CMS Energy and Consumers are monitoring numerous legislative, policy, and regulatory initiatives, including those to regulate greenhouse gases, and related litigation. While CMS Energy and Consumers cannot predict the outcome of these matters, which could have a material effect on the companies, they intend to continue to move forward with their clean and lean strategy.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2019,2020, CMS Energy’s net income available to common stockholders was $513$597 million, and diluted EPS were $1.81.$2.09. This compares with net income available to common stockholders of $549$513 million and diluted EPS of $1.94$1.81 for the nine months ended September 30, 2018.2019. In 2019,2020, the benefits from electric and gas rate increases, higher gaselectric sales due primarily to colderfavorable weather, and the gain on the sale of transmission equipmentlower operating and maintenance expenses were more than offset partially by lower electricgas sales due primarily to unfavorable weather lower earnings atin the enterprises segment,first quarter, higher depreciation and amortization, and higher service restoration costs fromthe absence of a 2019 storms.gain on sale of transmission assets. A more detailed discussion of the factors affecting CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ performance can be found in the Results of Operations section that follows this Executive Overview.

Consumers projects that itshas experienced and anticipates it will continue to experience a decline in electric deliveries to commercial and industrial customers in the near term as a result of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Over the next five years, Consumers expects weather-normalized electric deliveries willto decrease slightly and weather‑normalized gas deliveries to remain stable and gas weather-normalized deliveries will increase slightly through 2023.stable. This outlook reflects modest growth in electric demand offset by the effects of energy waste reduction programs andoffset largely by modest growth in electric and gas demand offset partially by energy efficiency and conservation.demand.

CMS Energy and Consumers remain committed to achieving world class performance while delivering hometown service. Leveragingservice and positively impacting the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. During 2020, CMS Energy and Consumers:

CMS Energy and Consumers will continue to utilize the Consumers Energy Way to enable them to achieve world class performance and positively impact the triple bottom line. Consumers’ investment plan and the regulatory environment in which it operates also drive its ability to impact the triple bottom line.

Presented in the following illustration are planned capital expenditures of $11.8$12.2 billion that Consumers expects to make from 20192020 through 2023:2024:

CMS Energy and Consumers will continue to consider the impact on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit in their daily operations as well as in their long-term strategic decisions. Consumers will continue to seek fair and timely regulatory treatment that will support its customer-driven investment plan, while pursuing cost-control measures that will allow it to maintain sustainable customer base rates. The Consumers Energy Way is an important means of realizing CMS Energy’s and Consumers’ purpose of achieving world class performance while delivering hometown service.