DTE Approved to Increase Electric Rates for Infrastructure Improvement

DTE Electric is raising its rates.

Friday, May 8, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a $188.3 million rate increase for the energy company. The increase is authorized to include new investments in critical infrastructure, particularly the electric distribution system. The investments are approved to support electrical safety and reliability.

The utility had requested a $351 million base rate increase. Instead, the Commission granted an increase 47 percent lower than requested. Preliminary estimates are that a residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per month would pay approximately $3.93 more per month, a 4.7% increase, starting with the June 2020 bill.

DTE is authorized to implement the rate increase starting May 15. The impact of the increase on customer bills will be softened in the near term by DTE Electric’s recent announcement it will pass along $30-40 million in bill relief to its electric utility customers for the months of June and July, from savings realized through lower fuel prices spent on generating electricity.