DTE Gas customers in Ann Arbor will pay $2.87 more per month starting Oct. 1 after Michigan regulators approved a $74.52 million annual rate increase.

Hours later, DTE filed for another.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved the increase on Thursday, Sept. 10, adding 3.34% to the typical residential bill for a customer using about 7,500 cubic feet of natural gas, the Sun Times News reported.

A separate infrastructure surcharge of 68 cents per month takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The increase affects about 1.3 million DTE Gas customers statewide, including Ann Arbor households.

The approved amount is less than half the $162.7 million net increase DTE had requested. Regulators rejected $284.1 million tied to replacing DTE's Taggart Compressor Station in Montcalm County, finding the company had not justified how the project ballooned from an estimated $100 million to about $390 million. The MPSC also rejected $17.9 million in fleet costs.

"We need a gas system that is safe and reliable, but every dollar that we authorize ultimately comes from customers," MPSC Commissioner Katherine Peretick said during the Sept. 10 meeting.

On the same day, DTE filed a notice in Case No. U-22241 announcing plans to request another gas rate increase in November. The company has not disclosed how much it will seek. The filing is a procedural step required at least 60 days before a formal rate request and does not change anyone's bill, according to the Detroit News.

Attorney General Dana Nessel called the timing alarming. In a Friday, Sept. 11 statement, Nessel said DTE moved to seek more money from customers just hours after securing the rate hike. She said Michigan appears trapped in what she called an endless cycle of soaring gas and electric bills.

Since January 2024, DTE has filed five gas and electric rate cases in Michigan seeking roughly $2 billion in total annual revenue increases, Spectrum News reported. Regulators have approved about $648 million across four decided cases. A fifth case, a $474.3 million electric request filed in April, remains pending.

The MPSC also ordered DTE to investigate an apparent racial disparity in customer shutoffs and submit possible corrective measures by Dec. 30. The commission raised DTE's Low-Income Assistance Credit from $40 to $58 for eligible customers and directed the company to improve communication about energy assistance programs.

DTE Gas President and Chief Operating Officer Renee Tomina said the company will work to manage costs and keep bills as low as possible. Tomina said DTE Gas bills are expected to remain below the average for cold-weather states in the Midwest and Northeast.

No public comment deadline for Case No. U-22241 has been announced. DTE's formal rate request is due in November.