LANSING, Mich. — State utility regulators in Lansing signed off Thursday on a Consumers Energy natural gas rate increase that is more than 42 percent smaller than the company first sought.
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved roughly $139.2 million in new revenue, down from a $240 million ask. A household using 75 hundred cubic feet a month would pay about $3.92 more, a 4.33 percent bump, starting Nov. 1.
Commissioners backed safety work that replaces leak-prone mains and service lines, including $207 million for the Enhanced Infrastructure Replacement Program after wiping unsupported dollars from a $234.2 million request, and $66.3 million for leak detection and repair.
They also set a 9.8 percent return on equity and a 50-50 debt-equity mix. More than $7.9 million sought for transmission pipeline integrity work was rejected, along with some storage pipeline spending and a customer-order tracker that lacked savings proof.
Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office intervened, said her team had urged cutting the request by more than half and argued Consumers had padded capital forecasts. Other parties in Case U-21981 included the Lansing Board of Water and Light and Michigan State University.
Section: More Lansing MI business news
