Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Michigan rates change

We Energies residential customers in Michigan will see a slight decrease in their electric bills for the rest of 2012 based on an order issued by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) June 26. Although the order from the MPSC included a base rate increase over all customer classes, the company will also apply a customer refund of $2.7 million to bills through December. The refund is associated with a legal settlement with the U.S. Department of Energy over the storage of spent nuclear fuel.

The average We Energies residential customer using 750 kilowatt hours/month will see a bill decrease of 89 cents per month through the end of the year. That bill would increase by 80 cents per month in 2013 when the customer refund expires.

We Energies initially filed the 2012 rate case on July 5, 2011, requesting a $17.5 million increase. The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) issued a final order on June 26 for We Energies to increase its electric rates across all customer classes in that state by $9,197,912 annually. The approved increase includes $5,648,807 that was added to bills on Jan. 5, 2012.

The new electric rates reflect costs for substantial investments in reliability, renewable energy and environmental upgrades. Inclusion of these investments in customer rates represents the final piece of the recently completed Power the Future plan.

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