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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is pushing back against DTE’s half-billion-dollar rate hike, urging regulators to cut the increase to just 2.5% for households.
Attorney General Nessel Calls DTE Rate Hike Request Excessive and Unjustified
Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed testimony with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) challenging DTE Electric Company’s request to raise electric rates by $574 million, an 11% increase for residential customers.
Her office recommends slashing the hike by nearly 75%, lowering the potential increase to 2.5%. Nessel argued that DTE’s proposal comes only months after regulators approved a $217 million rate increase, placing an undue burden on Michigan households already coping with rising utility bills.
“DTE is once again showing us where its priorities lie – and it isn’t with Michigan ratepayers,” Nessel said in a statement. “Our review shows that nearly 75% of this proposed hike can’t be demonstrated to meaningfully improve service and stands only to enrich millionaire executives and far-flung shareholders.”
Expert Testimony Highlights Bill Impact and Capital Spending
The Attorney General’s case relies on testimony from Sebastian Coppola, a veteran energy consultant who reviewed DTE’s filing. Coppola concluded that instead of the $574 million increase, the company’s actual revenue need is closer to $158 million, a figure that would lead to only a 2.5% rise in household bills.
Coppola criticized DTE’s aggressive capital expenditure program, which calls for $8 billion in projects from 2024 through 2026. He said much of that spending—ranging from automation projects to office remodeling—does not prioritize grid reliability or affordability.
“Earnings growth is directly related to rate base growth,” Coppola testified, arguing that DTE’s parent company benefits from large capital projects that fuel stock appreciation rather than customer service improvements.
Vegetation Management vs. Costly Capital Projects
Nessel’s filing emphasized that customer dollars should be directed to vegetation management and tree trimming, which studies have shown to be more effective at preventing outages than higher-cost capital investments favored by utilities.
The testimony also calls out DTE’s use of “constant dollar averaging,” an accounting method that inflates historical costs with retroactive inflation adjustments. The MPSC previously rejected this method in a January 2025 ruling, siding with the Attorney General that such practices unfairly inflate customer rates.
Michigan Households at the Center of the Debate
DTE serves 2.3 million electric customers in Southeast Michigan and 1.3 million natural gas customers statewide. If the increase were approved at the requested level, the average residential bill would rise by double digits, hitting families with fixed and low incomes hardest.
Nessel’s office underscored that she has already helped save Michigan consumers nearly $4 billion by intervening in utility cases over her tenure. This case, she said, is about ensuring affordable and reliable energy, not fueling unchecked corporate growth.
Broader Context: Rising Energy Costs in Michigan
The debate over DTE’s rate request comes as Michigan households continue to face mounting energy expenses. Statewide concerns about affordability have grown after Consumers Energy also sought major increases in recent filings.
Utility rate hikes have become a near-annual occurrence, prompting calls from consumer advocates for stronger oversight and limits on back-to-back requests.
What Happens Next
The MPSC will weigh testimony from DTE, the Attorney General, and other stakeholders before issuing a decision. A ruling is expected later this year.
For Michigan families, the outcome could mean the difference between an 11% jump in electric bills or a far smaller 2.5% increase.
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