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AG Nessel Reaffirms Commitment to Protecting Ratepayers Amid Consumers Energy Rate Hike Filing Announcement

LANSING — Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reaffirmed her commitment to protecting ratepayers, pledging once again to intervene in all major rate cases before the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The announcement from the Attorney General comes as Consumers Energy entered a “Filing Announcement” last month (PDF), announcing its intent to seek yet another natural gas rate hike in December. 

The MPSC requires a utility to send a notice of its intent to file a new rate hike request at least 60 days before filing the case. Consumers Energy’s filing, submitted to the MPSC on October 16, was issued less than a month after the Commission approved a $157.5 million natural gas rate hike

While it remains unknown how many additional millions of dollars Consumers will seek to bill their customers in this upcoming rate hike request, in its previous case, the utility sought a rate hike of $248 million, which would have increased residential rates by 12%. A summary of the new rate hike request is expected to be filed before the formal application, which the utility indicates will be filed in December.

“Michigan families are doing everything they can to manage rising costs, and they shouldn’t have to brace for rate hike after rate hike from DTE and Consumers Energy,” Nessel said. “We cannot keep allowing these utilities to treat these hikes as business as usual while their customers struggle to pay their bills. My office will scrutinize this upcoming rate hike request for unreasonable or unsupported costs, just as we do in every major case, and just like every other time we’ve done so, I am sure we will uncover millions in indefensible costs. Michigan’s utility corporations must be held accountable to their customers as they seek these incessant rate hikes.”

Recent rate hike requests from DTE and Consumers Energy have included such inappropriate costs as private jet travel for executive staff and other unsupported expenditures that could not be demonstrated to be reasonable or prudent. Rate hike cases currently open before the MPSC include DTE’s latest electric rate hike request (U-21860) and Consumers Energy’s electric rate hike request (U-21870). DTE also filed a filing announcement in September, indicating its intent to file its formal application for a natural gas hike request next week.

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