Nessel 'astonished' by DTE rate hike request 5 days after last one
DTE Energy received approval to collect $242 million more from its electric customers, which is part of $1 billion in higher rates over the past four years.
MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) — DTE Energy electric customers may have to dig deeper again in 2027 to pay their bills after the company filed a notice this week to seek another rate increase.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called DTE’s notice “astonishing,” because it came only five days after the company won approval of a $242 million electric rate increase.
DTE did not say how much of an increase it will be seeking this year. A notice filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission indicates the formal request will come in late April.
The commission likely will not rule on the request until early next year and DTE says any increase wouldn’t appear on bills until 2027. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office will advocate on behalf of customers.
Nessel blasted the DTE notice for the short time frame after the company won approval of a rate hike and well before the company even started collecting any additional revenue from it.
“It’s astonishing that our current system allows DTE to announce their next rate hike case less than one week after locking in a $242 million rate hike, all while the utility projects record profits,” Nessel said.
She pointed out that DTE has won approval of more than $1 billion worth of annual increases since 2020.
Nessel also claims that DTE and Consumers Energy, which are the two largest energy suppliers in Michigan, are raking in record profits for shareholders while continually charging higher rates.
She asked the three Michigan Public Service Commission members to consider the impact of continued rate hikes.
“My office will continue to advocate for the best interests of utility customers in every major case,” Nessel said.
DTE said the rate increases are going toward projects that improve reliability for customers and reduce outages. The company says 2025 saw the best reliability for customers in nearly 20 years with a 60% decrease in time without power compared to 2024, which saw a 70% reduction from 2023.
“In the face of increasingly extreme weather and to deliver on the commitment to improve reliability, the company must continue to invest to deliver the energy our customers demand and deserve,” DTE says.
DTE serves 2.3 million electric customers in Southeast Michigan and in the Thumb region. The company has a separate rate increase pending with state regulators for natural gas customers.
Consumers Energy, which has pending rate increase requests for electric and natural gas customers this year, says the company does not charge customers more to pay for private jets or “padding the pockets of shareholders.”
“Let’s get back to debating the merits of the investments that improve reliability, instead of creating unnecessary conflict over notices of intent, which are simply part of the transparent legally required regulatory process,” Consumers spokeswoman Katie Carey said.