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State regulators Thursday approved a $74.52 million gas rate hike for DTE Energy customers, which was less than half the total requested.
A residential customer with typical usage of 75 hundred cubic feet of gas per month will see a 3.34% bill increase, or $2.87 per month, officials said. The new rates are set to go into effect Oct. 1.
A separate surcharge that will fund infrastructure investments will add a monthly increase of 0.77%, or 68 cents, beginning in 2027, according to mlive.com.
DTE's rates last rose by nearly $114 million in November 2024, a hike of just over 2% for residential customers, which was also accompanied by an increased surcharge, mlive.com reported.
In a news release Friday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said the rate hike approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission will increase rates by more than 4% for residential customers. Nessel also noted DTE has announced its intent to seek another rate hike this November.
Nessel said she intervenes in every major utility rate case before the MPSC and the amount DTE will seek in its upcoming request remains unknown.
"Not weeks, not days, but literally hours after securing a multi-million-dollar rate hike from the Commission, all while Michigan families struggle to keep their homes warm, DTE announced its intent to ask its customers for more," Nessel said.
Customers, the attorney general added, deserve better than a MPSC that "predictably splits the difference between corporate greed and affordable rates."
DTE Gas President and Chief Operating Officer Renee Tomina said the rate hike allows DTE to continue work to modernize its gas system and serve customers safely and reliably. The approved increase, she added, "does not include the full level of support we requested for the investments we believe are needed to keep pace with critical system upgrades."
DTE sells natural gas to 1.3 million customers across the state, including Dickinson County and other parts of the Upper Peninsula.