MI Commission Grants DTE Energy Rate Hike: Here's What That Means

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN — DTE Energy customers in southeastern Michigan will see their utility bills go up next year after officials approved a rate increase Friday.

The Michigan Public Service Commission granted the utility a $368 million electric rate increase for the coming year, roughly 60 percent of what the utility initially asked for in February.

That means the average residential customer who uses DTE Energy will pay roughly $6.51 more per month on their electricity bill, officials said.

DTE Energy said the commission’s order did not include a $300 million rate decrease, which took effect on Friday. That decrease will offset the increase the Commission approved so the net increase to the average customer bill will more likely be under $3 per month, according to the utility.

The rate increase is designed to help the utility secure "infrastructure investments to boost reliability and speed up deployment of clean energy generation," officials said.

The commission also approved the utility's request to speed up its ongoing tree trimming operation to help clear trees and branches away from power lines, which they said is the leading cause of outages in Michigan.

The new rates will take effect starting Dec. 15, officials said.

The commission last approved a DTE Energy rate hike in November 2022, when officials granted the utility a $30.5 million increase, which amounted to a roughly 71-cent increase in residential bills.

DTE Energy serves roughly 2.3 million customers in southeast Michigan.