DTE Got $110M Rate Hike In August and Now They Want Another $200M?

**Meddle** · February-19-21, 01:08 PM

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/mic...llion-increase

First thing the AG should be doing is looking at Executive pay packages. No rate increase should be allowed without a pay package cut.

**Satiricalivory** · February-19-21, 01:21 PM

All utilities should be publicly owned. There is no reason some corpo rats should be allowed to make profits off of a necessity.

**hybridy** · February-19-21, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by Satiricalivory

All utilities should be publicly owned. There is no reason some corpo rats should be allowed to make profits off of a necessity.

Texas, "hold my beer"

**Honky Tonk** · February-19-21, 02:35 PM

They have to pay all that overtime to fix powerlines after high winds. You think it's bad now, wait until everyone starts charging their EVs.

**Meddle** · February-19-21, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by Satiricalivory

All utilities should be publicly owned.

Yeah ... umm the various municipal water departments work out so well and all.

**softailrider** · February-19-21, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

They have to pay all that overtime to fix powerlines after high winds. You think it's bad now, wait until everyone starts charging their EVs.

EV’s aren’t exactly flying off the dealers lots from what I can see on the road, that’s not just in Michigan either.

**ABetterDetroit** · February-21-21, 03:09 PM

Nothing like the old deregulated private capitalism vs public owner utility argument where the ideology of the way ‘it ought to be’ slams head first into the reality of the way it actually ends up in the real world.

Does anyone still believe that our electric bills will get cheaper because we let DTE sell all of our transmission lines and gear to ITC for a song so they could become the high paid cushy job destination for practically every executive that pensions out of their careers at DTE? Maybe there could be a conflict of interest when ITC sets the rate for DTE when that crap is happening? I have yet to meet a employee of ITC that didn’t come from DTE.

If anyone thinks that cozy relationship results in lower electric bills around here they are probably the same idiots who still believe that the deregulated cable TV companies are going to give us lower cable bills while ignoring the simple fact that several of those companies made it to the Dow Thirty and our cable bills went up 6 fold after much of the system was already built out then deregulated.

Ignore the ideology and fall back to the simple logic of Democrats will empty the till while the Republicans will put you on a easy monthly payment plan for the rest of your life to benefit themselves and their donors. If we live by that rule and elect leaders with morals maybe we could find some real balance instead of just cheering for a team that just rips us off.

**Zacha341** · February-23-21, 09:18 AM

All of this hurts poor and lower-mid middle class people the most. The elites and rich can pay an $1800 monthly utility bill as easily as they can pay $180!

**Hermod** · February-23-21, 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by ABetterDetroit

If anyone thinks that cozy relationship results in lower electric bills around here they are probably the same idiots who still believe that the deregulated cable TV companies are going to give us lower cable bills while ignoring the simple fact that several of those companies made it to the Dow Thirty and our cable bills went up 6 fold after much of the system was already built out then deregulated.

In fairness to the cable companies, they came on line to provide clearer reception for distant stations. The broadcast stations were happy to allow the cable companies to have their signals for nothing because it meant more eyeballs. The startup cable only companies were happy to have an avenue for their programming. Then the broadcast and cable-only providers decided that they should be paid for their programming in addition to what their commercials were bringing in. Much of the rise in cable fees is due not to the cost of providing service but to the increasing fees that the content providers are demanding from the cable companies.

**Lowell** · February-23-21, 10:13 AM

At least DTE operates in a regulated setting. We only have to look at the debacle in Texas to see that we can be thankful for having the MSPC [Michigan Public Services Commission] for insuring "ensuring safe, reliable, and accessible energy and telecommunications services at reasonable rates."

I hear a lot of whining about 'regulations are killing business', 'regulations are costing too much', etc. But when the planes start falling out of the skies and Texas goes dark, it's water supplies freeze, pipes burst, and folks have to keep warm by huddling around their boiling water pots all I hear is crickets when it comes to talk of regulations. /end rant. :-)

**Zacha341** · February-23-21, 10:38 AM

^ That's a grand point!

**bartocktoo** · February-23-21, 01:51 PM

It's funny they ask for the rate increase on February 8th, when we were at our coldest. And the prior one was in August, when temps are arguably hottest. And the $110 million in August came with a whopping $1 million to assist with those who can't afford it. A whopping 0.9% of their political raise.

**MikeM** · February-23-21, 02:00 PM

Bookmark this when the next gas main explosion kills someone and everyone is ranting about how they should be jailed for not maintaining and modernizing the system.

**Danny** · February-23-21, 02:02 PM

Well at least DTE is not Encot! Or we will be getting a sticker shock in our electric bill.

**bartocktoo** · February-23-21, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by MikeM

Bookmark this when the next gas main explosion kills someone and everyone is ranting about how they should be jailed for not maintaining and modernizing the system.

Every crisis, be it currently in Texas and how they do things, or a gas main explosion in any other state including ours, will be met with scrutiny about investment in infrastructure and what could have been done to avoid it.

Questioning where the day-to-day dollars are going when utilities such as DTE are seeking increases...is actually directly related to that.