State officials are pushing back against a proposed utility rate increase that could impact hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed formal testimony before the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) aimed at reducing SEMCO Energy Gas Company’s requested natural gas rate hike by 66%.
SEMCO, which supplies natural gas to approximately 300,000 customers across the state, is currently seeking a $61.3 million rate increase. If approved as requested, the hike would translate to a 15% overall increase in natural gas rates for consumers.
Nessel’s recommendations, if fully adopted by the MPSC, would shrink that overall hike to about 5%. This adjustment would trim more than $40.4 million from the utility company’s proposal.
“Whether a utility sells to millions of customers or a few hundred thousand, Michiganders should not be forced to foot the bill for unjustified corporate expenses and inflated bonuses for executives,” Attorney General Nessel said. “My office intervenes in every single one of these cases because residents deserve to have an advocate in their corner who fights for them. The MPSC must protect ratepayers and ensure any approved rate is in the best interest of the people of this state.”
The Attorney General’s filed testimony flags several areas of concern within SEMCO’s request, pointing to what her office describes as unreasonable capital expenditures alongside operations and maintenance expenses.
Furthermore, the testimony recommends eliminating millions of dollars earmarked for executive incentive compensation, arguing these funds serve corporate targets rather than direct consumer benefits. Nessel is also calling for a reduction in the company’s requested return on equity, proposing a drop from 10.75% to 9.8%.
This intervention is part of an ongoing pattern for the Attorney General’s office, which routinely participates in major utility rate proceedings before the MPSC. According to state figures, these interventions have collectively blocked more than $4.6 billion in proposed rate hikes.
The SEMCO case is one of several active utility disputes currently under review by the MPSC. Other pending rate hike requests include natural gas and electric proposals from Consumers Energy (cases U-21981 and U-22070), natural gas and electric requests from DTE (cases U-21973 and U-22046), and an electric rate hike request from the Upper Peninsula Power Company (case U-22032).
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