Consumers Energy Announces New Electric Rate Hike Case Just 7 Days Following Approval of $154 Million Increase

LANSING— Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recommits to Michigan utility ratepayers her pledge to intervene in every rate case before the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), as Consumers Energy announced a new electric rate hike request on Friday— just seven days following the approval of their latest rate hike and one week before that rate hike takes effect on April 4.

By law, utility companies can only file rate hike requests once every 12 months, as measured from the day they file their rate hike application. Friday’s filed announcement comes 364 days since the filed announcement in Consumers’ last rate hike case, and their intended application date of June 2 would come a mere 366 days since they filed their last rate hike application.

“By allowing Consumers Energy and DTE to file a new rate hike every twelve months, the State is allowing these billion-dollar businesses to ask for more and more before anyone can even gauge the impact of the previous rate hike,” said Nessel. “Meaning they’re back asking for more money before anybody knows if their proposed investments made any difference in reliability or affordability for customers.”

While it remains unknown how many additional millions of dollars Consumers Energy will seek to bill from their customers in this upcoming rate hike request, the utility corporation opened their previous cases seeking to hike residential electric rates by 8.2% in 2024 and nearly 5% in 2023. A summary of Consumers Energy’s new rate hike request is expected to be filed before the formal application, which the corporation indicates it will file in June.

“Consumers Energy just got the green-light to raise electric rates, and one week later they’re back with their hands out before putting any of their new earnings to work for their customers,” Nessel continued. “My office will continue to hold Consumers Energy and DTE accountable before the Commission, and expose again and again the unjustifiable costs they try, perennially, to foist upon their bill-paying customers.”

In January, the MPSC approved DTE’s latest rate hike, which will allow the utility corporation to bill electric customers an additional $217 million annually, though the efforts of Attorney General Nessel were successful in slashing that rate hike in half. DTE has already indicated to the MPSC (PDF) they intend to file their next electric rate hike request next month. In addition to DTE’s filed notice for their upcoming electric rate hike request (U-21860), Consumers Energy has an open natural gas rate hike request before the commission as well (U-21806).

The Attorney General has saved Michigan consumers more than $3.7 billion by intervening in utility cases before the MPSC. Consumers Energy sells electricity to approximately 1.9 million customers throughout Michigan and natural gas to 1.8 million customers across the state.