Nessel seeks to slash DTE half-billion-dollar rate hike request by 75%

BY BEN SOLIS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Attorney General Dana Nessel filed testimony on Friday in DTE Energy’s latest rake hike request, which is seeking more than $574 million increase from the Michigan Public Service Commission, the regulatory body that oversees the state’s utilities.

Although the rate hike would only amount to an 11% percent increase, the full dollar amount is staggering, Nessel said, and comes just three months after DTE received approval from the commission to increase its rates by $217 million.

Nessel urged the commission to reduce DTE’s rate hike by nearly 75%, reducing it to a 2.5% increase instead of the 11% initially requested.

The attorney general also recommended that DTE reprioritize customer dollars toward vegetation management and tree trimming, as opposed to raising rates on customers to bolster its grid.

“DTE is once again showing us where its priorities lie—and it isn’t with Michigan ratepayers,” Nessel said in a statement. “Just months after being granted a $200 million rate hike, DTE is back at the trough demanding half a billion dollars more from its customers. Our thorough review shows that nearly 75% of this proposed hike can’t be demonstrated to meaningfully improve service or do so cost effectively and stands only to enrich millionaire executives and far-flung shareholders.”

Nessel added: “At some point, this endless cycle of rate hike after rate hike from Consumers Energy and DTE must end.”

“Why not now? Michigan ratepayers deserve utility companies that deliver affordable, reliable energy, not ones that treat them like blank checks,” Nessel said.

When asked for comment, DTE spokesperson Ryan Lowry sent Michigan Advance the following statement;

“Michigan has a robust regulatory process that ensures stakeholders can provide their input into how the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) sets rates. DTE bills have only grown by 3% in total over the past four years because of our strong focus on controlling our costs and efficiently operating our power plants, and residential bills continue to be below the national average,” Lowry said. “Rate cases support critical investments in the grid and DTE’s work to build the electric grid of the future is showing results. Thanks to the combination of $1.5 billion of investment in the electric grid last year—that allowed us to work our four point plan, including tree trimming—coupled with less extreme weather, our customers experienced a nearly 70% improvement in time spent without power in 2024. We want to build upon this success and meet our commitment to improve electric reliability while maintaining the affordability our customers demand and deserve.”

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.