Less than three months after Consumers Energy received approval to increase natural gas rates, the company has filed an even bigger overall rate increase request with the State of Michigan officials. 

The pending request is to make adjustments that provide an additional $240 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2027. Just three months ago, the company received approval to bump up the rates by a total $157 million, effective Nov. 1 – amended to about 37% less than its original request.  

The proposed rate hike for late 2026 and much of 2027 works out to an average 8% increase for single-family homes, one of the documents shows. The most recent rate hike is calculated to be about 8.1% or about $6.44 on an average residential bill.  

Actual rates vary among the residential and commercial customer contracts. 

"Consumers Energy has determined that an increase in its natural gas rates is required to afford the Company a reasonable opportunity to recover its reasonable costs of providing natural gas service, including a reasonable return on common equity," a cover letter with the application states. 

Without an increase in rates, the company estimates it would hit a "revenue deficiency" of nearly $240 million for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2027.  

The documents that Consumers Energy filed Tuesday with the Michigan Public Service Commission present the company's actual and projected expenses for calendar year 2024, the time frame of January 2025 through October 2026, and for a fiscal year that ends October 2027. 

The supporting testimony and documents detail fleet replacement plans, operational cost trends, and the investments needed to comply with environmental and legal requirements. 

The public service commission records also show that Consumers Energy submitted a letter Oct. 16 indicating its intent to file an application for increasing the natural gas distribution rates "on or after December 16, 2025." 

In response, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Wednesday that her office will intervene in the rate increase request, as it does for other major utility filings before the Michigan Public Service Commission. 

A public hearing in Lansing will be scheduled as part of this process. 

After a request from CBS Detroit for a comment on the rate hike increase, Consumers Energy provided the following statement:

"Consumers Energy is fully committed to Michigan and the people we serve. We stand by our natural gas rate request and will demonstrate to the Public Service Commission that our proposals are needed to continue heating homes and businesses safely, reliably and affordably. Our customers' rates today are below the state, Midwest and national average, and we will continue to work actively to squeeze every dollar out of our system for the well-being of our customers."

The above video originally aired Oct. 1, 2025.