FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
January 12, 2024
Contact: Denzel McCampbell, denzel@progressmichigan.org
Progress MI Applauds Nessel DTE Hike Scrutiny, Encourages Legislature to Follow Suit
The time has come to rein in the greed of corporate utilities
MICHIGAN – As DTE Energy proposes yet another rate increase, Attorney General Dana Nessel is pushing back and echoing many of ratepayers’ concerns. Over the past few years, the utility giant has had their rate increases approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, but whether those increases have led to comparable improvements in services and infrastructure is debatable at best.
“We have allowed big utility companies to run roughshod over the people they’re meant to serve for far too long, and it’s about time our elected officials stepped up to hold them accountable,” said Sam inglot, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Nessel’s call for increased scrutiny emphasizes that she has Michiganders’ backs and is still willing to go toe to toe with greedy corporations to ensure we’re treated fairly.”
Throughout 2023, Progress Michigan included questions about utility accountability in several iterations of the Lake Effect polling newsletter—and respondents consistently expressed support for more oversight to ensure utilities are effectively serving their ratepayers. As of last August, 93 percent of Michigan voters think it’s important for lawmakers to hold big utilities accountable and 88 percent support requiring DTE and Consumers to invest more in infrastructure.
“Michiganders are sick and tired of paying more and more for their energy while simultaneously dealing with frequent power outages and interruptions in service caused by the companies’ failure to shore up their infrastructure,” Inglot continued. “DTE says they’ll use the extra money they bring in to make infrastructure improvements, but if the recent past is anything to go by, we cannot and should not just take them at their word. We need our elected officials, particularly those in the legislature, to follow AG Nessel’s lead, take a hard look at the state of big utilities, and come up with real solutions to protect ratepayers.”
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