Citizens Utility Board of Michigan

In this issue we report promising developments in DTE's pending rate case, continuing discussion of performance-based regulation to make Michigan less vulnerable to outages, and more.

July 26, 2023

By Amy Bandyk

Executive Director

Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Michigan

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"DTE’s integrated resource plan shows that the company will support clean energy only if it can also saddle ratepayers with unnecessary profit for shareholders from coal plant retirements at the same time. The IRP settlement agreement that the MPSC is approving today includes a provision that allows DTE to charge its ratepayers for a 9% return for DTE shareholders on billions of dollars that make up the undepreciated book value of the Monroe coal-fired power plant, which will be retired. For 15 years, DTE’s customers will be paying off the Monroe coal plant plus the 9% return that represents pure profit for shareholders. DTE residential customers already pay some of the highest rates in the country for substandard service with frequent outages. It is obscene to pile this shareholder return on top of their already high bills. 

It didn’t have to be this way. The clean energy progress that beneficial provisions of the IRP will achieve could have gone forward without the giveaway to shareholders. DTE could have planned to charge ratepayers for the undepreciated value of the Monroe coal plant over time, but without the 9% shareholder return.

Michigan Advance

By Jon King

March 27, 2023

https://michiganadvance.com/blog/mpsc-oks-higher-compensation-for-residents-after-power-outages/

Planet Detroit 

By Brian Allnutt

March 23, 2023

https://planetdetroit.org/2023/03/can-michigans-troubled-utilities-handle-the-climate-crisis/?

MLive

By Sheri McWhirter

March 22, 2023

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/03/michigan-utilities-will-need-to-restore-power-faster-under-proposed-state-rules.html

Detroit Free Press

By Keith Matheny 

March 22, 2023

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/03/22/dte-consumers-energy-power-outage-blackout/70030246007/

Bridge Michigan

By Paula Gardner

March 10, 2023

https://www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/dte-energy-cut-operations-meet-profits-months-power-outages

Planet Detroit

By Sarah Alvarez

March 6, 2023

https://planetdetroit.org/2023/03/dte-is-asking-to-hike-electric-rates-again-what-michigan-customers-need-to-know/

WDIV Local 4 Detroit

Flashpoint

Devin Scillian, Anchor

March 5, 2023

https://www.clickondetroit.com/flashpoint/2023/03/05/flashpoint-power-outage-frustrations-debbie-dingell-on-the-toxic-train-derailment-soil/?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

WXYZ 7 Action News

By Kim Russell

March 1, 2023

https://www.wxyz.com/news/can-infrastructure-upgrades-more-utility-regulation-prevent-future-power-outages