Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduces Make DTE Pay Act in response to repeated rate hike proposals
Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib introduced a bill on Thursday that would increase penalties on DTE Energy and other investor-owned utilities for seeking rate hikes within two years of violating the Clean Air Act.
The Make DTE Pay Act would increase penalties "by an amount that is equal to the amount of the original assessment." The penalties would apply to any rate hikes approved or still under review.
This comes in response to DTE's request for a $474.3 million rate hike in April 2026, roughly two months after the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a $242.4 million increase that went into effect in March. If approved, the $474 million proposal would go into effect in February 2027.
The company said it intends to hold off on seeking additional rate hikes for at least 2 years after its latest request.
In February 2026, DTE was ordered to pay $100 million after a federal court ruled that the company failed to comply with the Clean Air Act at a Zug Island facility. The court order followed a lawsuit by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which alleged that DTE made changes at the facility that increased sulfur dioxide emissions.
"Corporate polluters like DTE treat violating our environmental protection laws as the cost of doing business," Tlaib said in a statement. "It's so insulting to our families that DTE wants to jack up their bills year after year while poisoning the air they breathe. We need to change the math and make polluting our communities as bad for business as it is for our health. The Make DTE Pay Act stands up for our families by forcing DTE and other dirty utilities to make a choice: follow the Clean Air Act or pay huge financial penalties when they try to hike customer rates."
CBS News Detroit reached out to DTE for comment on Thursday and is awaiting a response.
In December 2025, MPSC approved DTE's contract to supply power for a proposed data center in Southeast Michigan. The company said its $474 million request does not include costs related to those contracts.
However, Attorney General Dana Nessel appealed MPSC's approval, requesting a contested case hearing to review the documents.
In a statement on Tlaib's proposed bill, Andrew Bashi, staff attorney at the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, said, "Our office spent years in court to get DTE a $100 million Clean Air Act penalty for poisoning residents of Detroit and River Rouge."
"It was a hard-fought win, and it sounds like a huge sum until you realize that DTE saved $70 million by breaking the law in the first place," Bashi said. "This bill gets us one step closer to a world where following the law is more cost effective than breaking it. That's essential, because money is the only language investor-owned utilities like DTE speak."
