DTE seeks to increase gas distribution rates again
DTE seeks to increase gas distribution rates again
Less than a year after getting approval to collect an additional $113 million from ratepayers, DTE has announced it will seek another hike in its natural gas distribution rates, a move state Attorney General Dana Nessel said is disrespectful to Michiganians.
The utility, which sells natural gas to about 1.3 million customers across the state, filed an application with the Michigan Public Service Commission on Sept. 12, in which it announced its intent to apply for a rate increase.
The filing does not specify how large of a rate hike DTE will seek. The total amount the company hopes to generate through the increase will be included in an application that will be filed with the MPSC on or around Nov. 13.
In a statement, DTE said the rate adjustment “will allow the company to continue to modernize its infrastructure and safely serve its customers across Michigan with the reliable natural gas service they expect and deserve.”
The move comes less than a year after the MPSC approved an increase in DTE’s gas rates that allowed the utility to collect from ratepayers an additional $113.8 million each year. Officials said that hike costs a typical residential customer an extra $1.98 on their monthly bill.
In seeking that increase, DTE had initially requested to raise rates enough to generate an additional $266 million, but the commission ultimately approved only about 42.5% of that total, following testimony from ratepayers, as well as Nessel, who has promised to intervene in any major utility rate cases involving the MPSC.
“While we may not know the exact size of this increase yet, history is a good indicator that it will be significant and padded to fill the pockets of shareholders and executives,” Nessel said in a statement Wednesday. “Less than a year ago, DTE won approval for a $113 million gas rate hike, and now they’re already starting the process of asking for more.”
MPSC spokesperson Matt Helms said the commission does not comment directly on pending cases.
Per state law, MPSC is tasked with setting rates that are “just and reasonable.” In utility rate cases, the commission reviews all proposed investments for reasonableness.
Utilities must prove the costs they seek to recover through rates are “needed, reasonable and prudent,” MPSC said, “and it’s fairly common for the MPSC to exclude costs that don’t meet the burden of proof.”
Once DTE files its application to raise gas rates, the commission has 10 months to issue an order.
DTE noted that any adjustments approved by the MPSC to the company’s base gas rates would not go into effect until September 2026.
“The planned investment request filing in mid-November will be the start of a 10-month process, and DTE Gas customers will not see a change in their base rate until later next year,” the company said in a statement.
In additional to DTE’s latest pending rate proposal, the MPSC is also considering separate requests from Consumers Energy, which wants to increase its electric rates enough to generate an additional $436 million per year, and its gas rates enough to pull in another $248 million annually.
Nessel says DTE’s and Consumers’ respective requests will help pay for “inappropriate” costs like private jet travel for executives and “other unsupported expenditures that could not be demonstrated to be reasonable or prudent.”
“Michigan families should not be treated like an endless ATM … at some point, we have to ask when these repeated requests from DTE and Consumers Energy will end or, at the very least, when these requests will begin to reflect any ounce of respect for their ratepayers,” Nessel said in a statement.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com