Great Lakes Wire

At a recent meeting, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) issued a final order regarding DTE Gas's rate case. The commission approved a gas rate increase significantly lower than the $266 million initially proposed by DTE in January. Attorney General Nessel intervened on behalf of customers, arguing that most of the requested hike was excessive and unnecessary. She recommended an increase no higher than $112.2 million.

Following this intervention, the MPSC authorized a $113 million annual increase in gas rates. This decision saves customers around $153 million, reducing DTE’s initial request by nearly 56%. Consequently, residential gas bills will rise by only 2.3%, compared to the nearly 10% increase that would have resulted from DTE's original proposal.

Additionally, the MPSC approved a return on equity (ROE) of 9.8%, below DTE’s request of 10.25%. This ROE determines how much utility corporations can charge ratepayers over project costs for shareholder benefit. The approved rate is lower than what was requested by the Attorney General and is one of the lowest granted to any utility in recent years.

The Commission also accepted Attorney General Nessel's recommendation to exclude costs associated with DTE’s private jet travel from customer charges, deeming them unreasonable and inappropriate.

Attorney General Nessel stated, “The Commission's decision to slash DTE's requested rate hike by more than half will save consumers hundreds of millions of dollars on their utility bills.” She emphasized that this money could be better used for families' needs rather than corporate expenses like executive jet travel.

Since taking office, Attorney General Nessel has saved Michigan consumers over $3 billion through interventions in utility cases before the MPSC.

DTE provides natural gas to 1.3 million customers across Michigan and electricity to about 2.2 million customers in Southeast Michigan.