The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has approved a $242.4 million annual rate increase for DTE Electric customers. This decision allows DTE to collect additional revenue from its ratepayers, although the approved amount is 58% lower than the company’s original request of $574 million. The reduction was influenced by the efforts of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who has advocated on behalf of consumers.
This latest rate hike follows a $217 million increase approved last year. Since 2020, the MPSC has authorized more than $1 billion in annual revenue increases for DTE, raising ongoing concerns about reliability and affordability for customers.
DTE initially proposed an 11% rate increase for residential customers. In response, Attorney General Nessel submitted testimony urging the MPSC to limit the hike to 2.5% for households and called for a significant reduction in DTE’s overall request.
“As we experience a never-ending cycle of rate hikes, Michigan families are left wondering when enough will finally be enough,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Year after year, they are asked to dig deeper into their pockets to cover their utility bills, and while my office has been an unwavering advocate for consumers, at a certain point we must ask whether this system is truly serving the people it was designed to protect. Reliability and affordability should be a priority, yet time and again we see proposals from DTE and Consumers Energy that emphasize costly capital projects over commonsense investments that more directly reduce outages and improve services. All while DTE is projecting record profits, even as the utility asks customers to pay more. Michiganders deserve accountability and results from their ballooning utility bills, and I will continue to advocate for the ratepayers of this state ahead of our utility corporations’ profits and shareholder dividends.”
Attorney General Nessel’s office reports saving Michigan consumers more than $4 billion through interventions in utility cases before the MPSC. There are also pending cases regarding further rate hike requests from both DTE (for natural gas) and Consumers Energy (for electricity and natural gas).
DTE provides electricity service to about 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan and supplies natural gas to approximately 1.3 million customers statewide.
The Michigan Department of Attorney General works across the state on initiatives such as public service, protection efforts, supporting vulnerable populations, acting against human trafficking, drafting policies like the Clean Slate law in 2019 for expungement opportunities, and safeguarding residents throughout Michigan. Dana Nessel serves as Michigan’s 54th attorney general.
