Capitol News

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has approved a $157.5 million increase in natural gas rates for Consumers Energy, following the company’s request to raise rates by $248 million. The approved hike is 37% less than what the utility originally sought. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel had advocated for a reduction of nearly 70%, suggesting that only $76.5 million was justified.

Nessel criticized the decision, stating, “It is disappointing that the MPSC approved a rate hike far above not only my office’s recommendation, but even beyond its own judge’s finding that only $142 million was justified. Michigan families deserve a regulator that puts their interests first, yet this order still forces Consumers Energy ratepayers to pay far more than is fair or reasonable. By repeatedly siding with the utilities they are meant to regulate, the MPSC has shown a disturbing disregard for the struggles of Michigan families, trapping ratepayers in an unsustainable system that prioritizes corporate profits over their well-being.”

Consumers Energy initially filed for the rate increase in December 2024, seeking permission to charge customers an additional 12% on residential bills.

In addition to challenging the natural gas rate hike, Attorney General Nessel has filed testimony opposing Consumers Energy’s latest electric rate case before the MPSC. She recommends reducing by 64% the company’s proposed $436 million electric rate increase, which would be its largest such request in decades. The company submitted this request in May after already receiving approval for a $154 million increase two months prior.

Consumers Energy also seeks to recover another $24 million from customers through a separate one-year surcharge related to deferred distribution costs. If approved as requested, these measures would collectively raise overall rates by 9.2% and household rates by 13.3%. Nessel has urged regulators to cap any overall increase at no more than 3.5%.

“Time and again, Consumers Energy comes to the MPSC demanding outrageous rate hikes – and time and again, my office intervenes to protect Michigan families,” Nessel said. “After combing through this massive electric rate hike request line by line, we have found nearly two-thirds of it to be overstated, unjustified, and flat-out unfair to its customers. Michigan families are already being squeezed by higher costs at every turn, and they should not be forced to bankroll a for-profit corporation’s excessive demands.”

According to her office, Nessel’s interventions before the MPSC have resulted in nearly $4 billion in savings for Michigan consumers over time. Consumers Energy provides electricity service to about 1.9 million customers and delivers natural gas to approximately 1.8 million households across Michigan.