Michigan panel approves $153.8 million increase for Consumers Energy electric rates

• Consumers Energy provides electric service to 1.8 million customers in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
• The company received approval for $153.8 million in electric rate hikes by the Michigan Public Service Commission on Friday.

State regulators signed off on another rate hike for Jackson-based Consumers Energy on Friday, approving a $153.8 million increase to the utility’s electric rates in Michigan.

The average Consumers customer will see an increase of around $2.78 on their monthly electric bill once the new rates kick in on April 4. According to the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), the company sought a rate increase to improve service reliability and cover costs related to investments in energy generation, company facilities and ongoing company plans.

“We plan to roll up our sleeves and accelerate building the electric grid for the next generation,” Greg Salisbury, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric grid design, said in a statement. “We want our neighbors to know we will be working every day to make our system more reliable and more resilient to keep the lights on, even after the worst storms.”

Consumers had initially asked the MPSC for an increase of $325 million. The commission most recently approved an electric rate hike for Consumers in March 2024, when it approved about $92 million in increases. The MPSC is the three-member body that considers rate increase requests from utility companies. 

The $153.8 million increase will cover the entire cost of a $125 million tree-trimming program for Consumers, the commission said. Tree trimming involves cutting branches hanging over powerlines, which utility officials say are often a threat to electric service reliability during inclement weather. The rate hike will also allow Consumers to invest in low-voltage distribution, which is specifically aimed at reducing the number of power outages for customers who experience frequent outages, according to the MPSC.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office was among the intervenors in the case, arguing Consumers should not receive an electric hike of more than $82.9 million, according to regulatory filings. In a statement, Nessel criticized both Consumers and Detroit-based DTE for repeatedly seeking service rate hikes from the MPSC.

“Only 12 months since their last rate hike was approved, Consumers Energy customers are facing yet another rate hike in what has become a never-ending cycle,” Nessel said. “Consumers Energy and DTE keep coming back to the trough, and over and over again Michiganders are forced to pay higher and higher bills just to keep the lights on.”

Throughout the typical rate case process, a utility company will ask the MPSC to approve a rate hike and argue why it needs to charge higher rates to customers. Intervenors, which often include Nessel’s office and other groups arguing against higher costs, will file their own arguments against the utility’s request. In rate increase request cases, the commission typically ends up approving a lower rate increase than what’s initially sought by a utility.

Consumers provides electric service to 1.8 million customers in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, including cities such as Battle Creek, Flint, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Along with DTE, it’s one of Michigan’s largest energy providers. DTE last received approval for an electric rate increase in January, when the MPSC approved a $217.4 million increase to the utility’s electric rates.

Both Consumers and DTE have been criticized for spotty electric reliability. An audit published in September took issues with both the frequency and duration of power outages for both companies.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com