Michigan Gas Utilities seeks rate increase

Sat, May 17, 2008    to del.icio.us

Michigan Gas Utilities, the Tri-Cities area's biggest supplier of natural gas, has asked the state utility regulatory commission to be able to raise its rates by 5.8 percent.

The increase, if approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, would mean a monthly increase of about $6 for the typical residential customer, the company said.

In addition, Michigan Gas has asked for a 4.4 percent interim increase, subject to a refund, while the state commission considers the overall requested hike.

"Due to inflation, our costs have risen over the past five years, so we need this increase to recover those increased costs," Michigan Gas President Gary Erickson said in a news release Friday.

Erickson said natural gas commodity prices continue to be volatile and current indications are that prices could be higher next winter.

"The rate increase is only related with the delivery of the gas commodity," Erickson explained. "That makes up about 27 percent of the total bill for a typical residential customer. The rest of the bill is the cost of the natural gas commodity itself."

Michigan Gas Utilities Corp., with headquarters in Monroe, is a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Group. It serves approximately 165,000 customers in Michigan.