Troy-area Consumers Energy natural gas customers will face higher rates starting Nov. 1, with a typical household’s monthly bill rising about $4, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission.

The commission approved a $139.2 million annual rate increase Thursday, Oct. 15. A household using 7,500 cubic feet of natural gas per month will pay an additional $3.92, or 4.33%. Actual increases will depend on usage, according to the commission’s announcement.

Consumers Energy serves about 1.8 million natural gas customers statewide, according to the Michigan attorney general’s office. The Jackson-based utility originally sought $240 million in additional annual revenue. Regulators reduced that request by more than 42%, The Detroit News reported.

The approved spending includes $207 million for Consumers’ Enhanced Infrastructure Replacement Program, which replaces gas mains most at risk of leaks. The company had requested $234.2 million for that program. The commission also approved $66.3 million for leak detection and repair work, according to the MPSC.

Regulators rejected more than $7.9 million for transmission pipeline integrity work, citing a pattern of projected spending exceeding actual expenditures. They also denied costs for storage pipeline replacement projects with uncertain timelines and a customer order service tracker whose savings had not been demonstrated, the commission said.

Consumers’ previous natural gas rate increase, approved in September 2025, totaled $157.5 million, according to the attorney general’s office.

Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the latest decision and called for changes to the state’s utility regulation system. She had urged commissioners to limit the increase to 3.5% for a typical residential customer. Her office said it identified inflated capital spending projections and unreasonable profit margins in Consumers’ application, according to its Oct. 15 statement.

“Change must come, to our current system of annual on-demand rate hikes and our regulatory structure,” Nessel said in the statement.

The commission authorized a 9.8% return on common equity, the return Consumers is permitted to earn on the shareholder-funded portion of its regulated investments.

Matthew Bandyk, a senior consultant at 5 Lakes Energy who testifies on behalf of the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, said reducing that return to 8.8% could have saved customers approximately $50 million more annually, The Detroit News reported.

In a statement provided to The Detroit News by spokesperson Brian Wheeler, Consumers said the investments would help prevent problems and improve the safety and reliability of its natural gas system.

Consumers is also seeking a separate $456 million annual electric rate increase before the commission.