Attorney General Nessel pushes Consumers Energy rate hike to lower equity return

Attorney General Dana Nessel filed testimony last week asking the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve a Consumers Energy rate hike of 9.8 percent, or $456 million annually. Nessel urged the three‑person board—Daniel Scripps, Katherin Peretick and Shaquila Myers—to limit the utility’s return on equity to 9.20 percent and cut the requested hike by 53 percent. The commission’s duties include approving, modifying or denying energy and gas rate increases for the roughly 1.9 million customers served across Michigan.

Consumers Energy seeks to raise residential electric rates by 9.8 percent, a move that would make its profit margin on capital investments 10.25 percent, the highest return on equity in the state and likely one of the highest in the nation. Nessel’s office claims the commission will split the difference between the well‑reasoned numbers her office proposes and the utility’s demand, as it has done many times. In this time of serious cost concerns for households, the utility’s rate hike is expected to affect groceries, gasoline, and electric bills.

The utility announced its pursuit of this rate hike on April 3, 2026, just seven days after the MPSC approved a $276 million hike for the company, and filed its application to hike rates by $456 million in June. Since 2020, the MPSC has approved nearly $800 million in rate hikes for Consumers Energy, and Nessel’s office says it has saved Michigan consumers more than $4.6 billion by intervening in utility cases before the commission. Contact the Lansing Main Office at 517‑284‑8100 and submit a complaint HERE.

Read the full story at fox2detroit.com.