From the HERE City State Desk
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is asking state regulators to approve less than half of the electric rate increase Consumers Energy is seeking.
Consumers Energy wants to raise electric rates by about $456 million a year, which would increase residential electric rates by 9.8%. In testimony filed with the state Public Service Commission, Nessel argued the request should be cut by 53% and that regulators should consider affordability given rising residential shutoffs.
The utility is also seeking to raise its return on equity, the profit margin on capital investments, to 10.25%. Nessel said that would be the highest in the state and likely one of the highest in the nation, and she argued it should be limited to 9.2%.
Nessel accused the utility of padding its request with unsupported costs and said she expects the commission may simply split the difference, as it has done before.
The commission has approved nearly $800 million in rate hikes for Consumers Energy since 2020. On March 27, it approved an increase of about $276 million. The company announced plans for the new request on April 3, seven days later, and filed its application in June.
A Consumers Energy spokesperson said the request would pay for reliability upgrades that mean fewer and shorter outages, and that residential bills would remain below the national average. The company serves about 1.9 million electric customers.
