DTE seeks additional increase for natural gas customers on heels of $74M rate hike approval
Meanwhile, Metro Detroit counties vow to fight pending $474M request
Shortly after the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a $74.5 million net rate hike for DTE natural gas customers on Thursday, the utility announced intentions to file an additional increase request by years-end.
According to the MPSC, the $74.5 million rate hike — which goes into effect Oct. 1 — is only half of the $162.7 million net rate increase DTE originally requested, translating to an additional $2.87 per month for typical residential customers.
In Thursday’ filing announcement seeking an additional increase, DTE Gas Co. — a natural gas subsidiary of DTE Energy — did not specify the exact amount it will request approval for from the state — but did note its intentions to file the application by mid-November.
The latest approval follows a separate case DTE Energy filed with the MPSC in April, which seeks an additional $474 million to “support several billion dollars of investment in the electric grid and power generation,” the company reported. If approved, it could increase residential electric rates by about 10%, beginning in March 2027.
Oakland County officials say they intend to fight the proposed 10% increase, calling on residents to share old DTE bills to help prove the financial impacts of the utility’s rising rates. Officials in Wayne and Macomb counties are also intervening in the case.
“A 10% rate increase is unaffordable for Oakland County’s working families,” County Board Chair David Woodward (D-Royal Oak) said in a news release issued Friday. “We will fight for lower rates and use every tool in our power to help our residents.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office frequently intervenes in utility rate increase requests from DTE and Consumers Energy, criticized DTE on Friday for its swiftness in asking for another rate hike for natural gas customers, “all while Michigan families struggle to keep their homes warm.”
“This system is fundamentally broken, and Michigan ratepayers deserve better,” Nessel said. “They deserve better from the regulated monopolies raking in profits off of their backs, better from a Commission that consistently and predictably splits the difference between corporate greed and affordable rates, and better from elected officials who have chosen to look the other way.”
Related: DTE-backed group loses appeal to exclude public power proposal from Ann Arbor ballot
According to Consumer Reports, electricity rates in Michigan have risen over 17% in the past three years, with DTE filing for five rate increases over the last seven years and Consumers Energy seeking electric rate increases every year since 2020.
Utilities are legally allowed to file a rate increase request once every year under Michigan law. However, DTE noted in April that it would pause any future requests for electric rate increases for two years if the first data center project it’s investing in goes online by the end of 2027.
Severe weather intensifying outages
Thursday’s rate increase approval and subsequent filing announcement comes less than a week after hundreds of thousands of households across the state were left without power for days following severe storms, leaving many communities and officials frustrated with the utility’s rate hikes and unreliable service in the face of severe weather events.
However, DTE maintains that the rate increases are necessary to improve reliability of service.
“We know that any increase in bills matters for our customers, and we’re committed to delivering clear value in return — through improved reliability, cleaner energy, helping our most vulnerable customers, and continued efforts to keep bills as low as possible,” DTE stated in April. “Our customers’ bills remain below regional and national averages, and the grid is getting more resilient — with outage times improving 90% from 2023 to 2025. We’ve made real progress, but we know there’s more work to do in building a stronger grid for our customers.”
Related: Could Detroit build its own power grid? City council weighs options after storm
Though the MPSC recently raised power outage credits for customers who experienced extended outages from $35 to $44 per day, many customers and government officials say the credit falls short.
Bills introduced in the state Legislature this week aim to take those credits a step further by providing utility customers with hourly payments for extended outages.
Sponsors of the Senate bills say the outage credits they’re proposing are meant to disincentivize excessively long outages while also preventing utility companies from using said credits to jack up monthly rates for customers.
“I’ve seen firsthand how our residents in Detroit and Metro Detroit are struggling amid these extended power outages, losing food and resources they barely can afford,” said state Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), a co-sponsor of the proposed legislation. “People deserve real action and fair reimbursement for grid failures that they have no control over.”
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/09/11/dte-seeks-additional-increase-for-natural-gas-customers-on-heels-of-74m-rate-hike-approval/