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LANSING – Today, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved yet another rate hike for Consumers Energy customers, allowing the company to collect an additional $276.6 million in revenue from its electricity customers. Consumers Energy initially sought permission to raise rates by 13%. In her filed testimony, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel argued for the MPSC to slash Consumers Energy’s rate hike down to 3.5% and called for a nearly 65% cut to the utility's rate hike request. The rate hike approved today will raise residential customer electricity rates by 8.9%.
The approved rate hike is $160 million less than Consumers Energy’s original request, which sought a $436 million rate hike and an additional surcharge of $24.3 million. This was reduced, in part, due to the Attorney General’s continued advocacy on behalf of ratepayers. Today’s approved rate hike will become effective on May 1, 2026, and follows last year’s $154 million electric rate hike. Since 2020, the MPSC has approved nearly $800 million in annual revenue increases for Consumers Energy. Under the current law, Consumers Energy is eligible to file their next rate hike request in June 2026.
"Consumers Energy customers will once again have to brace for higher bills because of the never-ending cycle of rate hikes passed on by the utility,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Unfortunately, this is something we have become accustomed to. Even though my office carefully reviews DTE and Consumers Energy rate hike requests for bloated and unjustified costs, it is ultimately the MPSC who determines how much to approve or how often these rate hikes occur. This process continues to place the burden on ratepayers and demands greater accountability to ensure Michiganders receive the affordability and reliability they deserve. I urge our elected leaders of both parties to reconsider this badly broken system. It’s both unfair and unsustainable for our state.”
Since taking office, the Attorney General has helped save Michigan consumers more than $4.1 billion by intervening in utility cases before the MPSC. Rate hike cases currently open before the MPSC include Consumers Energy’s natural gas rate hike request (U-21981), DTE’s natural gas rate hike request (U-21973), SEMCO Energy Gas Company’s gas rate hike request (U-22002), and Upper Peninsula Power Company’s electric rate hike request (U-22032). DTE has also submitted a filing announcement, announcing its intent to file another electric rate hike in April.
Consumers Energy sells electricity to approximately 1.9 million customers throughout Michigan and natural gas to 1.8 million customers across the state.
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