Higher customer drawings on the tap as DTE receives approval for $ 217.4 million electrical interest rates

On By Littum

DTE Energy Co. -Customers pay a higher electric rate starting next month when Michigan Public Service Commission approved the tool’s second hike in just over a year on Thursday. The higher rate is expected to give the tool an annual revenue increase of $ 217.4 million.

From February 6, a typical DTE customer who uses 500 kWh a month will see an increase of $ 4.61 or 4.65%in their monthly bill during the rate increase. MPSC cut the Detroit-based tool’s original increase request by 52%.

The Commission said that the increase in revenue would allow DTE to upgrade aging power lines and improve reliability through increased maintenance and more frequent trimming of wood focusing on Detroit and its closest suburbs that have some of the oldest power lines on the tool’s grid.

Before a unanimous approval of the Hiking at the Commission Meeting on Thursday, Commissioner Katherine Peretick, although DTE, said in his use, which sought the increased rates, eligible for his wood trim, maintenance wise customer advantage in pilot programs that the higher rates would help fund.

“There are many places in this order where the rationale just wasn’t enough for us to be comfortable with approving the expenses,” she said.

Commission member Alessandra Carreon noted that DTE had to provide more detailed information about the programs that it says will help it continue to make progress in reliability.

“We recognize the progress that DTE has made to prioritize infrastructure upgrades in vulnerable societies … However, DTE has to move on by integrating demographic and reliability data into its distribution planning process,” she said.

But the commission chairman, Dan Scripps, said that extra funding would ensure that DTE is making progress in reducing the number and duration of power outages, a problem that MPSC has been “occupied” with, he said.

“The $ 217 million approved in additional revenue in this case, I think, brings us more important steps closer to where we need to be,” he said.

In response to the approval of the interest rate increase, DTE released a statement on Thursday and said: “Our customers demand and deserve reliable energy. DTE Energy continuously improves our operations and reduces costs to keep energy affordable.”

DTE argued that the hike will be mitigated because of its “recent customer -month -old bill -in reduction in the power supply recovery recovery factor (PSCR)”, believing that “customers will not experience an increase in their monthly bills.”

DTE spokesman Ryan Lowry explained that the move, which came into force in November, reduced DTE’s PSCR by $ 300 million, reducing housing bills by approx. $ 5 per Month on average through the end of 2025.

PSCR, a variable rate that reflects the actual cost of fuel and other sources that DTE uses to produce electricity may later rise or fall depending on market prices, but for the rest of 2025 the tool expects it to continue to equalize The rate increase of approved Thursday told Lowry the Detroit News.

The parts of DT’s request that MPSC approved include:

  • An increase of $ 87 million from $ 409.5 million to $ 496.5. Millions for 2019-25, to trim trees and other vegetation around power lines more often.
  • Costs for DTE Electric’s Breaker replacement program.
  • Costs regarding the extension and addition of stations and reconstruction of miles of cable.
  • Increase in DTE Electric’s low -income supply billing assistance credit from $ 40 to $ 50 a month for registered customers whose household income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.
  • Investments of electric vehicles to support charging infrastructure, including $ 12.5 million in capital costs for DTE Electric’s collection promotion program in 2024 and $ 5.1 million in 2025.
  • The cost of the tool’s portable generator program that provides generators to the most vulnerable customers during widespread power cuts, helps operate refrigerators and freezers, preventing loss of food and medicine, driving critical care medical equipment and more.

The Commission kept stable DT’s authorized return on joint equity of 9.9%and rejected the company’s proposal to increase it to 10.5%.

MP show how the expense benefits taxpayers.

DTE has been sharply criticized by customers, consumer lawyers and some state officials for long and extensive power cuts after winter and summer storms, and Amy Bandyk, CEO of Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, said in an e -mail that MSPC “did not go Almost far enough to send the message that it has to change its ways.

“It’s not a matter of having enough money to improve the grid – it’s a matter of what DTE is doing with it,” Bandyk said. “However, the Commission approved most of DT’s proposed plans for the distribution system ‘curing’ despite the tool’s failure to show that these steps are wise investments for the customer.”

Michigan Attorney General’s Office said in an October that archived to MPSC that the increase should be set aside to $ 139.5 million, referring to calculations based on expert certificate for the company’s revenue shortage for the year.

“DTE has to empty its requests and are held responsible for continued service and reliability deficiencies – not rewarded for subpar -evil by simply dumping more money in the machine,” according to the document filed by Joel King, assistant legal lawyer. “DT’s customers and the whole state of Michigan deserve better.”

These comments came 11 months after the Commission awarded an increase of $ 368 million for electricity users and cost the average housing customer about $ 6.51 more per year. Month.

In September, state regulators released a third -party audit that concluded DTE and Consumers Energy, Michigan’s two biggest tools, had “worse than average” interruptions and restoration delays than other tools, and wood -drimy cycles for both DTE Electric and were more delayed than their colleagues.

The Liberty Consulting Group revision found that both consumer and DT’s customer average interruption duration index in 2022 and 2023 – the average time it takes to recover service – was worse than average among other tools, ranking in the fourth quartile for reliability.

It also noted in the same years that the number of consumers and DTE customers who experienced four or more power cuts, as well as the customers who experienced power cuts of 8 hours or more were “greater than usual acceptable for utilities”, which in turn ranked the fourth quartile compared to other tools.

Scripps said at the time that the audit provided “a roadmap to achieve a grid that meets the customer’s expectations.”

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Personnel writers Beth Leblanc and Breana Noble contributed.