LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s arguments before the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) succeeded in convincing the Commission to disallow $33,774,728 in attempted cost recovery sought by DTE Electric, per an order issued by the MPSC last week.

Regulated utilities file cost recovery cases annually with the MPSC (distinct and separate from rate increase request cases) in an effort to recover, from their monopolized ratepayers, costs incurred by the utility corporation to purchase power to satisfy Michigan residents’ grid demand. Often, utility corporations attempt to “recover” from their customers increased costs that benefit only their shareholders or otherwise result from imprudent or unreasonable management of outages, mismanaging or poorly planning their own power generation, or even purchasing power through sweetheart deals with affiliated or formerly affiliated energy companies. In this cost recovery case, the MPSC ruled that DTE improperly attempted to bill their customers for more than $30 million in costs the utility corporation failed to support as necessary or beneficial to their electric customers. Much of the $30 million dealt with DTE’s imprudent management of several power plant outages. The MPSC issued its order on February 27th.

“Regulated utility corporations often seek permission to recover certain increased costs they incur to deliver Michiganders’ energy supply but, in all instances, they must show these expenses were in the interest of their customers and procured at competitive costs,” said Nessel. “DTE failed to make the mark here, and not for the first time. My office will continue to argue before the MPSC to keep unsupported and wasteful cash outlays made to boost corporate profits or for any other improper purpose off Michigan ratepayers’ bills.”

Also on February 27th, the MPSC issued another order disallowing $7,537,566 in unsupported costs requested in a case filed by DTM Michigan Lateral Company, a pipeline owner and operator whose main customer is DTE Gas. The Attorney General’s intervention in this case led to the issues being fully examined before a judge. The order will prevent more than $7.5 million from being billed to DTE Gas customers.

Altogether, the two orders amount to a total Michigan ratepayer savings of $41,312,294.

DTE sells natural gas to 1.3 million customers across the state and electricity to approximately 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan. Since taking office, Attorney General Nessel has helped save Michigan ratepayers nearly $3.7 billion.