Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called on April 16 for the Michigan Public Service Commission to reduce Consumers Energy’s proposed $240 million natural gas rate increase by more than $146 million. The recommended cut would lower the utility’s requested hike by 61 percent, aiming to save millions for Michigan families and small businesses.
The case matters because if approved as filed, residential customers could see an 8 percent rise in their bills and higher monthly service charges. The Attorney General’s office found that Consumers Energy included inflated capital spending estimates and what it described as unreasonable profit margins in its application. Nessel also asked regulators not to raise monthly service charges or approve a plan that would have customers pay for lost revenue during warmer months through a Revenue Decoupling Mechanism.
“As always, Consumers Energy has stuffed its rate hike request with ridiculous, overstated costs,” said Attorney General Nessel. “By now, we should all be exhausted by this predictable pattern of greed, and complete disregard for the Michigan utility customer. We already know how this process ends. The MPSC will almost certainly split the difference between our recommendation and Consumers Energy’s rate hike request to appease the utility, but where does that leave families bled for more every year? The MPSC has allowed nearly $800 million in annual revenue increases for Consumers Energy since 2019. The system itself is fundamentally broken. While Michigan families and small businesses struggle to keep the heat on, Consumers Energy stakeholders are making money hand over fist.”
If all recommendations from Nessel are adopted by regulators, she said the overall proposed rate increase would drop from about 10 percent to roughly 3.5 percent—saving consumers over $146 million.
Nessel’s office reports saving state residents more than $4.1 billion since she took office through intervention in utility cases before the commission. Other ongoing cases involve DTE’s natural gas rates (U-21973), SEMCO Energy Gas Company (U-22002), and Upper Peninsula Power Company (U-22032). Both DTE and Consumers have also announced plans to file new electric rate requests later this year.
Consumers Energy supplies electricity to about 1.9 million customers statewide and natural gas to another 1.8 million across Michigan according to the official website. The Department of Attorney General advances social efforts such as actions against human trafficking and support for vulnerable populations according to its official site. It also focuses on serving residents through public service initiatives according to department information, holds authority throughout Michigan as outlined online, influenced policy with laws like Clean Slate expungement legislation drafted in 2019 according to department records, and operates statewide with a mission of resident protection according to its website.