The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a gas rate increase for Consumers Energy of over 10 million dollars.
Officials with the MPSC say initially Consumers asked for an increase of 178 million.
Nick Assendelft is with the MPSC. He said Consumers wanted a rate increase to assist with maintaining its infrastructure.
“Any rate cases that come before the commission we take a look at them closely, and looking out for the rate payers, but we also want to make sure that investments are made smartly and prudently in making sure that infrastructure is strong and service is reliable.”
Assendelft said residential customers will see an increase of roughly 44 cents per month on their gas bills.
Brian Wheeler is a spokesperson for Consumers. He said the rate hike will help the company to replace aging infrastructure.
“We routinely and regularly are making upgrades to improve the service of our system to make sure that we’re replacing older pipelines. So the rate change that we’re talking about here reflects the investments and upgrades that we make to that system.”
In June, the MPSC announced that Consumers would reduce rates by roughly 47 million dollars because of savings made through federal corporate tax cuts.
At the time, bills for Consumers Energy customers were expected to be reduced by an average of two dollars and twenty cents per month.