Proposed DTE rate hike could cover the cost of private jet use, Michigan AG Nessel says

(CBS DETROIT) - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is once again pushing back against a proposed DTE Energy rate hike .

Nessel accuses the energy company of spending lavishly on corporate jets for their CEOs and attempting to pass that cost onto customers.

DTE is asking for another rate hike just months after a previous hike that amounted to a $368 million increase .

In testimony to the Michigan Public Service Commission, Nessel reported that DTE officials inflated the costs associated with running the utility by spending money on corporate jet travel. An additional rate hike would mean a 10% increase in consumers' bills. It's a move Nessel argued is "excessive and unnecessary."

That's a feeling echoed by business owner Carly Leisk, who owns Culture Beer and Cheese in downtown Brighton.

"I understand that energy does not come for free, but it is a lot extra for us to take on when we're already fighting raising rents and a lot of food costs," said Leisk. "I would love to have a fancy flight on a corporate jet, but that's not my lifestyle, and I don't think everyone out there should have that at their disposal from what the money that we are paying."

Leisk says her little shop has been open on Brighton's main street for the last six years, and between multiple refrigerators and cooktops, Culture Beer and Cheese goes through a lot of electricity.

"We have a lot of things that run here all the time," she said. "It's a lot of refrigeration and a lot of machinery."

She said it's frustrating to hear costs are being passed on to customers, especially if those costs are for luxury travel.

"I don't think every individual resident and business owner should be paying for their lifestyle; they can pay for that lifestyle themselves. Don't take it out of the rates that I'm paying," Leisk said.

According to testimony filed by the attorney general's office, DTE spent more than $236,000 in 2022 on corporate private jet flights for travel for investors and its board of directors.

In response, DTE tells CBS News Detroit in a statement that the utility "relied on limited corporate air travel for business-required needs — including meetings which provide best practices and information sharing to run best-in-class energy companies as well as meetings necessary to attract investment dollars into Michigan."

In testimony to the MPSC, Nessel's office recommended against the rate hike DTE requested, also noting that the private jet use runs counter to the utility's goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050.