 has approved a $153.8 million rate rise for Consumers Energy impacting 2 million clients){kind=link}
Michigan – In a significant move that impacts almost two million electric consumers across Michigan, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) has approved a $153.8 million rate rise for Consumers Energy. Though significant, this decision is a notable drop from the utility’s first proposal for a $325 million hike.
The decision, which comes just over a year after Consumers Energy was last given a rate increase by the MPSC, increases concerns about the ongoing rising trend in power costs. The utility firm first requested an increase of $303 million in extra income from electric rate changes, as well as a separate $22 million through a 12-month consumer surcharge scheduled to start in March 2025. Aiming for a remarkable 8.2% increase in electricity bills for residential users, the original proposal was to handle operating expenses and infrastructure improvements.
But Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who has consistently opposed rate hikes, was instrumental in reducing this demand. Nessel pushed for a far smaller hike, proposing a ceiling of $82.9 million, which would correspond to a more reasonable 1.8% increase in home energy prices. Eventually, the MPSC decided on a rise of about 2.8%, a number nonetheless controversial for consumer groups and consumers equally.
Attorney General Nessel expressed a mix of relief and ongoing concern in her response to the MPSC’s decision. “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,” she said.
She said that while her office’s involvement has been vital in reducing the financial effect on Michiganders, the fight against further rate increases remains a difficult, year-round struggle.
Just after a comparable January ruling, this regulatory permission allows DTE Energy, another large state utility, to raise rates by MPSC approval to produce an extra $217 million yearly. This was yet another instance in which Nessel’s work practically halved the initial increase.
DTE has already indicated, adding to the context of future financial changes for Michigan’s utility customers, that another rate increase is planned for next month. Furthermore, Consumers Energy itself has another outstanding case before the MPSC asking to change natural gas tariffs (U-21806), so aggravating potential future cost increases for consumers.
Challenging and negotiating utility rate proposals before the MPSC, Attorney General Nessel has saved Michigan residents around $3.7 billion since assuming office. Given that Consumers Energy serves about 1.9 million electric customers and 1.8 million gas customers dispersed over Michigan, these regulatory decisions have far-reaching consequences for a large part of the state’s population.
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