At its meeting, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) issued a final order in DTE Gas’s most recent rate case, approving a gas rate increase that is less than half of the company’s initial $266 million request proposed in January. Attorney General Nessel intervened in the case on behalf of customers, provided testimony, and argued that most of the company’s requested rate hike was excessive and unnecessary. The Attorney General contended that DTE should receive no more than $112.2 million. Following this intervention, the MPSC approved a $113 million annual increase in the company’s gas rates.
The decision saves customers approximately $153 million, a nearly 56% reduction from DTE’s initial request. As a result, the typical residential gas bill will rise by only 2.3%, rather than the nearly 10% increase that would have occurred if DTE’s original request had been granted. The MPSC also approved a 9.8% return on equity (ROE) instead of DTE’s 10.25% request. The ROE is the rate at which utility corporations may bill its ratepayers in excess of costs for certain projects, which primarily benefits their shareholders. The MPSC’s approved 9.8% is both lower than what was requested by the Attorney General and the lowest rate granted to any utility in many years. The Commission also adopted Attorney General Nessel’s recommendation to remove DTE’s private jet travel costs and deemed it unreasonable and inappropriate to recover from its customers.
“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,” said Nessel. “This is money that families can now use for their own needs rather than seeing it spent on corporate jet travel for utility executives. My department remains committed to advocating for Michigan consumers and will continue to fight unnecessary and unceasing rate hikes from the utility corporations in this State.”
Since taking office, the Attorney General has saved Michigan consumers more than $3 billion by intervening in utility cases before the MPSC.
DTE sells natural gas to 1.3 million customers across the state and electricity to approximately 2.2 million customers in Southeast Michigan.
Original souce can be found here.