Revenue increase granted: $273.33 million (DTE had originally requested $476.6 million, including the effects of ending a rate reduction from the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act)
Return on equity: 10% (DTE had originally requested 10.5%)
Authorized overall rate of return: 5.48% (DTE had originally requested 5.76%)
Here are a few things we think are important for you to know about this case if you are a DTE customer:
- The PSC approved an increase of $6.19, or 8.69%, for the typical residential customer using an average of 500 kWh a month. For commercial customers the increase is 4.34%, and for industrial customers it is 2.5%. After adjusting for the end of federal tax rebates, the increase in residential rates was 4.8%. This is a large decrease from DTE’s original request of 14.4%.
- On their monthly bill, residential customers have a fixed charge (a set amount that every customer pays) and variable charges that are proportionate to how much energy a customer uses. In this rate case, DTE also proposed an increase in the fixed charge on consumers from $7.50 to $9.00. But the PSC ultimately kept this charge at $7.50.
- In this rate case, DTE revealed the intention to gradually increase fixed charges on consumers to eventually reach $45 per customer per month.
- Since low-income customers tend to use less power than high-income customers, higher fixed charges increase electric bills for lower-income customers and decrease bills for high-income customers. Fixed rate increases drive the percentage increase higher for low-income ratepayers. An increase in the fixed charge affects low-income customers’ ability to regulate their energy use to fit their budgets.