Approved return on equity: 9.9%
Approved overall rate of return: 5.42%
Approved revenue requirement increase: $30.56 million
Approved residential class rate increase: <1%
Requested return on equity: 10.25%
Requested overall rate of return: 5.56%
Requested revenue requirement: $388 million
Requested residential class rate increase: 8.8%
Time period: Nov 1, 2022 – Oct. 31, 2023
Events:
In a Nov. 19 order, the MPSC cut DTE’s rate increase request significantly, agreeing with arguments put forth by CUB, the Michigan Attorney General and other intervening groups that DTE had not justified the additional spending it wanted to charge to ratepayers. During the meeting in which the MPSC approved the order, Commissioner Katherine Peretick implied that DTE had not provided “enough evidence on the record to be able to be confident that customer money is being spent in a reasonable and prudent manner.”
During this rate case, CUB’s testimony explained that DTE had proposed capital-intensive measures to replace grid equipment but did not show that these “gold-plated” investments provided the best value for ratepayers when compared to less expensive but more effective approaches toward improving reliability, like smarter tree trimming schedules. Read this blog post for more background.
On Dec. 16, DTE filed a petition for rehearing with the MPSC. The MPSC denied this petition on Feb. 2, 2023, finding that DTE’s warning about potential “unintended consequences” from the rate case decision was “simply another form of expressing its disagreement with the Commission’s decision” and agreeing with the Attorney General that “DTE [Electric]’s disagreement with the Commission’s revenue deficiency determination is not a valid reason for rehearing.”