The Cost of Doing Laundry, Cooking + More is Going Up in Michigan

One of your monthly bills is about to go up and it means washing clothes, cooking, and charging your cell phone is about to get more expensive.

The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved yet another rate hike for Consumers Energy, greenlighting the energy provider to collect an additional $153,809,000 from its customers.

What Does the Consumers Energy Rate Hike Mean for Customers?

The average Michigan household will pay about $2.78 more per month as the new rates go into effect beginning April 4.

The rate hike approved by the MPSC is about 53% lower than the original request which would have netted Consumers Energy an additional $325 million in revenue.

According to the Detroit Free Press, this rate increase follows a hike approved by the MPSC 12 months ago.

Will This Rate Increase Mean Fewer Power Outages for Michigan Customers?

According to Consumer Energy, the $153.8 million increase will cover the cost of a tree-trimming program which means cutting branches that hang over power lines. The utility will also invest in a low-voltage distribution system. Both initiatives are supposed to reduce the number of power outages experienced by Michigan customers.

Greg Salisbury is the Vice President of Electric Grid Designs for Consumers Energy. He says the company is working to build electric grids that are reliable in the future.

"We want our neighbors to know we will be working every day to make our system more reliable and more resilient to keep the lights on, even after the worst storms," Salisbury said.

Attorney General Puts the Kibosh on Larger Rate Hike

The slimmed-down version of the rate increase is partially due to actions taken by the Attorney General of Michigan's office.

In a statement to WNEM, Dana Nessel criticized Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, saying the companies' requests for rate increases are part of a never-ending cycle.

"Consumers Energy and DTE keep coming back to the trough, and over and over again Michiganders are forced to pay higher and higher bills just to keep the lights on," Nessel said. "I applaud my team’s efforts in blunting the impact of this increase on ratepayers’ bills, but yet again electric rates are rising for Consumers Energy’s customers. Fighting these constant rate hikes is unending, year-round work in my office, and we’ll continue to stand on guard for Michigan utility customers."

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Filed Under: Consumers Energy