DTE requests rate increase; customers experience 'worse than average' outage times

(The Center Square) – Michigan-based energy company DTE has requested a $456.4 million electric rate hike, even as newly-released results from a state audit show the company’s services are “worse than average” in the industry.

The Michigan Public Services Commission published the results of the nearly two-year investigation, showing that DTE customers experience worse than average electricity reliability, meaning longer and more frequent outages than the industry standard.

“More than 13% of DTE Electric customers experienced four or more interruptions in 2023, and nearly 45% experienced interruptions of eight hours or more,” the audit reported .

Equipment failure accounted for the highest percentage of those interruptions at 27.79%, while tree damage caused 22.68% and wind damage 21.65%.

The audit also warned the potential transition to electric vehicles would exacerbate existing insufficiencies in DTE-owned infrastructure, and urged the company to find adaptive solutions as soon as possible.

“Already significantly stressed at the present time, these electrification assumptions would further reduce the ability of DTE’s grid to respond to capacity needs,” it said. “Increasingly heightened demand on substations and circuits would limit grid flexibility and resilience, making it difficult to shift loads among different areas during either normal operations or in emergencies.”

In 2023 alone, DTE oversaw more than 2 million cumulative electric outages across the state, according to MPSC data.

DTE has asked for either a gas or electric rate hike every year for the past ten years, evoking rebukes from lawmakers across the aisle.

“This is unacceptable,” State Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, said in response to DTE’s most recent request. “Families across Michigan are already struggling to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living. DTE’s demand for yet another 10% hike will only make life harder for residents who are already stretched thin.”

The company’s request comes less than a year after scoring a $368 million electric rate increase in December, which at the time DTE said would fund infrastructure modernization investments and accelerate renewable energy generation.