Consumers Energy has announced plans to seek another natural gas rate increase, filing notice before its latest approved increase takes effect Nov. 1.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved a $139.2 million annual rate increase on Thursday, Oct. 15. The new rates take effect Nov. 1. A residential customer using 7,500 cubic feet of gas monthly would pay $3.92 more a month, or 4.33%, according to the commission’s announcement. Consumers serves about 1.8 million gas customers statewide, including in Bloomfield Township.

Four days later, on Monday, Oct. 19, the utility filed notice that it plans to seek another increase on or after Dec. 18, WXYZ reported.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office will intervene in the new case.

"Consumers Energy was approved for a new natural gas rate hike just last week, and before a single new dollar could be spent, they've announced their next rate hike," Nessel said in her office’s Oct. 20 statement.

Nessel said utilities like Consumers Energy and DTE employ entire teams to craft back-to-back rate hike applications, and their customers foot the bill for that work. She said her office has asked the MPSC to require both companies to track those costs.

The $139.2 million hike approved Oct. 15 was already a reduction. Consumers originally sought $240 million, but the MPSC cut the request by 42%, ClickOnDetroit reported. The commission also approved a 9.8% return on equity for the utility. Nessel's office had urged regulators to slash the request by more than half, arguing that the increase in this case should not exceed 3.5%.

State regulators have approved nearly $800 million in rate hikes for Consumers Energy since 2020, according to Nessel's office, as reported by ClickOnDetroit.

Nessel's office also alleged that recent rate hike requests from both Consumers Energy and DTE included expenses for private jet travel, executive incentive compensation tied to maximizing shareholder returns and other costs the AG's office called inappropriate.

Consumers Energy pushed back.

The company said in a statement reported by WXYZ that its natural gas rate fell from $11.90 per thousand cubic feet in 2022 to $11.03 in 2025. It said it files smaller, more frequent rate requests rather than waiting years, when larger increases can be harder on customers. The company said funds from the Oct. 15 hike will go toward replacing thousands of service lines, updating pressure facilities and replacing hundreds of miles of pipeline, according to its rate information page.

The attorney general’s office said Oct. 20 that the amount Consumers would seek was not yet known. Another increase would require MPSC approval.