WattWatch/All Michigan utilities
Investor-owned utility
Consumers Energy Company
Consumers Energy rates rose 21% since 2019 — the average bill went from $102 to $120 a month.
Computed as revenue ÷ sales from Consumers Energy’s own EIA-861 filings, 2019–2024. Not adjusted for inflation. See where that ranks.
The Michigan Public Service Commission sets your rates
Rate changes go through a public docket. Filings, hearing dates, and comment deadlines are matters of public record, and you can file a comment on them.
Dates you could act on
- October 7, 2026U-22026 · prehearing conference
Pre-hearing conference by video/teleconference before ALJ Heather M.S. Durian; any interested person may participate.
- October 1, 2026U-22127 · prehearing conference
Prehearing conference before ALJ Heather M.S. Durian by video/teleconference; any interested person may participate.
- September 30, 2026U-22026 · filing deadline
Deadline to file a petition to intervene and become a party.
- September 24, 2026U-22127 · filing deadline
Deadline to file a petition to intervene and become a party.
What is still undecided
These cases are open before the Commission — some are Consumers Energy’s own requests, others the Commission opened on its own motion. Undecided is the only window in which a comment from you counts for anything, so these are the ones worth watching.
- U-22070notice PDFRequested$456M
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to raise its electric rates to collect about $456 million more per year, plus $25 million tied to a distribution deferral, and to allow a return on common equity of at least 10.25%. The Commission has not decided the case; a prehearing is set for June 30, 2026 by video/teleconference. Customers can attend that hearing, file a written comment referencing Case No. U-22070, or petition to intervene as a party by June 23, 2026.
- U-21981notice PDFRequested$240M
Consumers Energy has asked state regulators to raise natural gas distribution rates to collect about $240 million more per year, and to allow a return on common equity of at least 10.25%, along with several other billing and accounting mechanisms. The Commission has not decided the request; a prehearing is set for January 13, 2026 by video/teleconference. Customers can attend that hearing, send a written comment referencing Case No. U-21981 to the Commission, or file a petition to intervene by January 7, 2026.
- U-21607notice PDFRequested$74.4M
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to review and settle up its gas cost recovery charges for the year that ended March 31, 2026, using an adjusted base GCR factor of $3.2111 per thousand cubic feet and rolling in a net under-recovery of $74,366,250. A pre-hearing is set for August 5, 2026 at 9:00 AM by video/teleconference, and anyone interested may take part. Customers can also send a written comment referencing Case No. U-21607 by email or mail, or file a petition to intervene by July 29, 2026 to become a formal party.
- U-21593notice PDFRequested$41M
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to review and settle up its 2025 power supply costs, including rolling forward an under-recovery of about $41 million with interest and setting 2028 surcharges tied to its Financial Compensation Mechanism, which had an over-recovery of about $5.06 million. A prehearing is set for May 5, 2026 at 9:30 AM by video/teleconference, and anyone wishing to become a party must file a petition to intervene by April 28, 2026. Customers may also send written comments referencing Case No. U-21593 to the Commission by email or mail, or attend the hearing to make a statement.
The only document in this docket is a notice of hearing telling customers that Consumers Energy asked the Commission to approve its power supply cost recovery plan and monthly fuel-cost factor for the 12 months ending December 31, 2023, and explaining how people could take part in the case. It does not itself approve or deny any rate. The other documents provided are orders in the separate reconciliation case (U-21258), which reviewed Consumers Energy's actual 2023 power costs, disallowed certain replacement power costs, and later denied the company's request for a rehearing. No residential bill amounts or percentage changes are stated in these documents.
- U-21887notice PDF
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve the gas cost factors its gas customers would pay from April 2026 through March 2027, based on a proposed base factor of $3.9420 per Mcf plus possible additional amounts if conditions change. A prehearing is set for February 11, 2026, by video or teleconference, and any interested person may take part. Customers can also send a written comment referencing Case No. U-21887 by email or mail to the Commission, or request a free copy of the application from the company.
This case concerns Consumers Energy's request for accounting and ratemaking approval of depreciation practices for its electric and common utility plant, not retail rates themselves. In a November 7, 2024 order, the Commission granted the company's request for more time and directed it to file its next electric depreciation case by December 31, 2025. A notice of hearing then set a prehearing conference for February 12, 2026 on the company's December 30, 2025 application, which proposes depreciation accrual rates about 6.50% higher than currently approved, roughly $33.6 million based on year-end 2024 plant balances, and asks that they take effect with new electric rates set in a future electric rate case. No residential bill change was decided in these documents.
- U-22026notice PDF
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to review and reconcile its 2025 renewable energy costs and revenues, and to set a Transfer Price of about $83.00 per MWh for renewable and advanced cleaner energy. A pre-hearing is set for October 7, 2026 by video/teleconference, and anyone who wants to be a formal party must petition to intervene by September 30, 2026. Customers can also send written comments referencing Case No. U-22026 to the Commission by email or mail, or speak at the hearing without becoming a party.
- U-21946notice PDF
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve an amended power purchase agreement with the T.E.S. Filer City Station plant and to allow it to recover the payments it makes under that contract. A prehearing is set for September 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM by video/teleconference, and anyone interested may take part. Customers can also send written comments referencing Case No. U-21946 by email or mail, or file a petition to intervene by September 3, 2025.
- U-21972notice PDF
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve changes to its voluntary green energy programs, including its Renewable Energy Credit, Green Giving, Renewable Energy, and Solar Gardens programs, related tariffs, and a plan to buy renewable energy credits from distributed generation. A prehearing is set for October 30, 2025 at 9:00 AM by video/teleconference, and anyone interested may take part. Customers can also send a written comment referencing Case No. U-21972 to the Commission by email or mail, or file a petition to intervene by October 23, 2025.
- U-21985notice PDF
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve selling its 13 river hydroelectric plants to Confluence Hydro, LLC, together with a power purchase agreement to buy power back from those plants and related accounting treatment. A prehearing is set for November 24, 2025 at 10:00 AM by video/teleconference, and anyone may attend or speak; petitions to intervene are due November 19, 2025. Customers may also send written comments at any time referencing Case No. U-21985 by email to mpscedockets@michigan.gov or by mail to the Commission's Executive Secretary.
- U-22010notice PDF
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to review and settle up its 2025 Energy Waste Reduction program against the surcharges customers already paid, including incentive payments for its gas and electric programs and its proposed surcharge mechanism. A pre-hearing is set for July 8, 2026, held by video or teleconference. Customers can send written comments referencing Case No. U-22010 by email or mail at any time, attend the hearing to state a position, or file a petition to intervene by July 1, 2026.
- U-22062notice PDF
A Consumers Energy customer, Michael Fong, has filed a complaint with the Michigan Public Service Commission saying his bills were wrong and that his electricity was shut off improperly in February 2026. He is asking the Commission to halt disconnection and collection activity, require the company to turn over records, recalculate his account, cancel certain fees, and change some company practices. A pre-hearing is set for April 30, 2026 by video/teleconference, and any interested person may participate.
- U-22126notice PDF
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to review and settle the accounts for one year of its electric distribution Investment Recovery Mechanism, covering March 1, 2025 through February 28, 2026, saying it spent $133,657,000 and that no refund to customers is required. A pre-hearing is set for July 7, 2026 at 9:00 AM by video/teleconference. Customers can attend that hearing, make a statement of position, or send a written comment referencing Case No. U-22126 to the Commission; those wanting full party status had to file a petition to intervene by June 30, 2026.
- U-22127notice PDF
Consumers Energy has filed a long-term electric resource plan and is asking the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve it, including Certificates of Necessity for the Karn and Thetford projects and for power purchase agreements, along with related accounting and cost-recovery treatment. A prehearing is set for October 1, 2026 by video/teleconference, and customers may attend, speak by filing an appearance, or send a written comment referencing Case No. U-22127. Free copies of the application are available from the company or on the Commission's website.
Consumers Energy has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve its plan and monthly factors for recovering power supply costs from electric customers during 2026, including a proposed ceiling factor of at least $0.01456 per kWh plus possible additional amounts under a contingency mechanism. A prehearing is set for November 19, 2025 by video/teleconference, and customers may attend or send written comments referencing Case No. U-21873. Those who want to become formal parties had to file a petition to intervene by November 12, 2025.
What changed your bill
About $10.68 a month — 8.9% applied to this utility’s average residential bill of $120 in 2024. Computed here, not stated in the order.
Requested$436MApproved$216.9MResidential8.9%ROE9.9%Consumers Energy asked to raise its electric rates by about $436 million a year, plus a $24.3 million distribution deferral surcharge. In its March 27, 2026 order, later corrected by an April 23, 2026 errata, the Commission authorized an increase of $216,903,000 in annual electric revenue, with a return on equity of 9.9% and rates effective May 1, 2026. Under the approved rate design shown in the order, revenue from the residential class rises about 8.9%, and the monthly residential system access charge stays at $8.00. On June 11, 2026, the Commission denied a rehearing petition from a large industrial customer about a facilities allowance, leaving the approved rates unchanged.
- Requested$112.1MApproved$112.1M
The Commission approved Consumers Energy's annual true-up of the surcharge that pays off bonds issued for the early retirement of the D.E. Karn coal units 1 and 2. For the period from October 2025 through September 2026, the total amount to be collected through this surcharge is $112,122,494, and residential customers are allocated 45.7% of that total. The residential per-kilowatt-hour surcharge changes from $0.004556 to $0.004049, applied to bills rendered on and after the October 2025 billing month.
- Approved$35.3M
These orders approve Consumers Energy's annual routine true-up of the surcharge that pays off the bonds issued to cover the costs of retiring and demolishing several older power plants. The Commission found the utility's calculations routine and accurate and allowed the updated per-kilowatt-hour securitization charges to take effect with the August billing month each year (2024, 2025, and 2026). In the 2024 order, the total amount to be collected from all customers for August 2024 through July 2025 was $35,302,670, and the residential per-kilowatt-hour charge changed from $0.001148 to $0.001187, so a residential customer using 500 kWh a month would see about a two-cent change on the separate securitization line of the bill. The 2025 and 2026 orders similarly adjust these charges without changing any other part of the utility's rates.
Everything else on the docket (9)
Procedural orders, reconciliations, and cases where no approved figure could be sourced. Kept for completeness — none of these carries a number we can tie to your bill.
The Commission approved Consumers Energy's request to change its electric service connection fees from flat charges to per-foot charges: residential connections move from a fixed $1,300 to $9.93 per foot, and general service connections move from a fixed $2,200 to $16.88 per foot. These fees apply only when a new service connection must be installed, so they do not change the rates existing customers currently pay on their monthly bills. Consumers must file matching tariff sheets within 30 days, and these fees stay in place until the Commission decides service connection fees in Case No. U-22070.
The Commission allowed Consumers Energy to record the operations and maintenance costs from the March 2026 storms as a regulatory asset, an accounting step that sets the costs aside for possible recovery later. The company estimated about $57 million in storm-related expense. This order does not change any customer's rates or bills, and the Commission said it will decide later, in a future rate case, whether the costs can be collected from customers. Consumers must submit detailed storm data and analysis in its next general electric rate case.
The Commission granted Consumers Energy permission to build and operate a 4,013-foot replacement section of the Salem Mainline 2 natural gas pipeline in Allegan County, including a slight shift in the route away from a residential neighborhood. Consumers estimated the project would cost about $6.1 million, and the order states that recovery of that cost will be addressed in a future general natural gas rate case. This order does not change gas rates, so it has no immediate effect on residential bills.
This docket covers Consumers Energy's amended renewable energy plan under Michigan's clean energy law. The Commission approved the plan in part in September 2025, later reopened the record on one narrow question about renewable energy credits from customer-owned generation, and in a series of separate orders approved contracts for specific solar projects, including build-transfer agreements and 30-year power purchase agreements for facilities in Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. The orders state that these approvals do not change rates or rate schedules and do not increase the cost of service to customers, so no residential bill change was set in these orders.
Two customers filed a complaint saying the electric bills at their vacation home were much higher than expected and that faulty Consumers Energy equipment or incorrect meter readings might be to blame. After hearings, the administrative law judge had suggested a refund of about $2,030.62 for one year of overcharges plus interest, but the Commission disagreed with the judge's findings on the billing and meter rules and dismissed the complaint with prejudice. No refund was ordered, and this order does not change electric rates or any customer's bill.
A Consumers Energy natural gas customer filed a complaint saying the company did not promptly cancel charges for an appliance service plan that appeared on his gas bill. Before the case was decided, the plan was canceled and the customer received an account credit and a refund check, and the Commission found no remaining factual dispute and no violation of any rule, order, or tariff. The Commission dismissed the complaint with prejudice. This order does not change rates or bills for any customer.
The Commission approved a settlement setting up a performance-based system for Consumers Energy's electric distribution service, using seven reliability measures such as outage duration and storm restoration times. Under the agreement, the company can earn up to $10 million a year in rewards, or be charged up to $10 million a year in penalties, based on how it performs, with the first annual report due March 15, 2027. This order does not itself change customer rates; any reward or penalty amount would be reviewed and handled later in a general rate case. In a later order dated May 14, 2026, the Commission denied a request from the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association to reconsider the settlement.
The Commission approved a settlement agreement in Consumers Energy's review of its renewable energy plan costs and revenues for the 12 months ending December 31, 2024. The settlement finds the company's 2024 renewable energy costs reasonable and prudent, sets the transfer price used in the power supply cost recovery process at about $85.00 per MWh, and records an ending regulatory liability of $55,967,875 including interest that carries into the 2025 reconciliation. The company's renewable energy surcharges were eliminated in 2014, so there were no renewable energy surcharge revenues from customers for 2024, and this order does not change residential rates.
The Commission approved Consumers Energy's request for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to build and operate two short natural gas well lines (the R-510 and R-511 Well Lines) in Ray Township, Macomb County, connecting new storage wells to an existing mainline. Consumers estimated the project cost at about $1,223,768, and the order states that recovery of those costs will be addressed later in a natural gas general rate case. This order does not change rates, so it has no immediate effect on a residential bill.
Every figure is quoted from the order it came from — hover a number to see the exact sentence and page. Figures without a quote in the source are not shown at all. Extracted figures are machine-read and not yet checked by a person.
Large loads in this territory
4 live data center projects name Consumers Energy as their serving utility
Together they have disclosed 320 MW of demand.
- Switch Pyramid campusGaines Township · 320 MWOperating
- Microsoft Gaines Township siteGaines TownshipApplication submitted
- Alterra Marshall siteMarshallPre-application
- Buick City siteFlintPaused or under moratorium
The full Michigan tracker, with what regulators have approved →
Large load watch
Who pays for the data centers
A single hyperscale data center can ask for more power than a small city. The question in front of the Commission is not whether they get it — it is what they have to commit to in order to get it, and who absorbs the cost of the poles, wires, and generation built for them if the project shrinks or never arrives.
In U-22061, DTE Electric asked to rewrite its Rate D11 and add a provision for customers taking more than 100 MW: a minimum monthly bill regardless of how much power is actually used, administrative fees, a fee for walking away, and collateral up front. Those terms are the difference between a data center carrying its own risk and residential customers carrying it. Consumers Energy has not filed a large-load provision of its own. What the Commission approves here is the template the rest of Michigan’s regulated utilities will be measured against.
DTE Electric has asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to change its Rate D11 and add a new provision for very large electricity users, such as customers needing more than 100 MW, including a minimum monthly billing amount, administrative fees, a termination fee, and collateral requirements. The Commission has not decided the case; a prehearing is set for April 28, 2026 by video/teleconference. Customers can attend that hearing, file a written comment referencing Case No. U-22061, or file a petition to intervene by April 21, 2026.
The scheduled dates in this case have passed — the last was May 5, 2026. The case remains open, and an order can issue at any time. This is the one worth having emailed to you.