DETROIT, Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Electric, a subsidiary of DTE Energy, has filed its first electric residential rate increase in four years.

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Because of already-planned rate adjustments, commercial and industrial customers will actually see a rate reduction since the last rate case.

DTE is asking the Michigan Public Service Commission to recover investments made over the last four years to ensure adequate electric supply, improve reliability and install environmental controls at its power plants to reduce emissions.

"DTE has been an industry leader in controlling operating costs over the last 10 years," said Jerry Norcia, president and chief operating officer of DTE Electric. "However, because of the significant investments we're making to ensure that Michigan has adequate and reliable electric supply in the long term, we have requested a rate increase at this time."

If the increase is approved by the MPSC late next year, on average, residential customers will see a $3.25 increase in their monthly bills since 2013. This represents an annual increase of approximately 1.5 percent and includes other rate offsets in 2014 and 2015.

"We have made, and will continue to make, significant investments," Norcia said. "These investments not only help us deliver cleaner, reliable energy for Michigan's families and businesses, but also make Michigan a more competitive place to do business."

DTE Electric is asking the MPSC to allow recovery of approximately $3.5 billion of investments made over the last four years. The filing requests a rate increase of $370 million.

About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan and a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan. The DTE Energy portfolio also includes non-utility energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and energy marketing and trading. Information about DTE Energy is available at dteenergy.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy.

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SOURCE DTE Energy