Customer Engagement & Experience
Sat, Sep 12
Molly Glick
Molly Glick
Energy Central Team
·Posted in Customer Engagement & Experience

NEWS: Controversial rate-hike requests from DTE and Consumers Energy could boost residential bills by over 9%.

  • The hikes: This year, DTE filed a $470M+ rate-hike request, while Consumers Energy asked for a $450M+ bump. These proposals could raise Michigan residents’ electric bills by over 9%, adding roughly $155 to $180 in annual costs, according to Consumer Reports. 

  • The opposition: In June, MI Attorney General Dana Nessel said she’ll “intervene” in Consumers’s rate hike request. Meanwhile, a Michigan ratepayer advocacy coalition is pressuring utilities to stop pouring money into politics. 

  • The big picture: Michigan’s electricity prices have jumped by more than 17% over the past three years. Meanwhile, DTE reported nearly $1.5B in earnings last year, and Consumers’s parent company made over $1B. 

  • Plus, profits down South: TX utilities Oncor and Houston Electric (a subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy) reported 65% and 43% year-over-year rises in profits from April-June. Why? Both were granted higher ROEs in recent rate cases.

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