DTE holds Michiganders hostage for controversial data center – while still seeking another massive increase in our bills

LANSING – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters today issued the following statement after DTE Energy announced plans to ask for another massive increase in our bills, then “pause” them for two years – but only if their controversial Oracle data center project in Saline Township comes online as planned.  

“Michiganders are not going to be held hostage by DTE for a data center nobody wants because it was approved the wrong way — jammed down our throats with non-disclosure agreements, a fast-tracked ‘rocket docket,’ and contracts so redacted they looked like swiss cheese,” said Alex Kellogg, Energy Accountability Manager for the Michigan LCV. “DTE has spent the past decade jacking up our bills year after year, pocketing tens of millions in CEO salaries and charging us for flying around on private jets.  We’re not dumb: Michiganders know this so-called two-year ‘rate freeze’ is smoke-and-mirrors because DTE is under pressure, and that our bills will continue to climb with passed-on fuel costs, market swings, and ballooning delivery fees. Michigan is done being treated like a greedy corporation’s own personal ATM.”

Late last year, state regulators conditionally approved DTE’s plan to power a 1.4-gigawatt data center for ChatGPT creator OpenAI and cloud computing giant Oracle, but made the process public only with significant redactions, on an expedited ex-parte timeline and without the opportunity for formal legal review by outside advocates. The project is now under construction in Saline. This year, the company is also seeking approval to serve another potential data center backed by Google in Van Buren Township. 

“No matter what DTE says, these constant, rubber-stamped rate hikes must end, and data center approval processes must be open and transparent – if you want to come to Michigan, deal with us straight up,” said Kellogg. “Michiganders pay the highest energy costs in the Midwest for some of the worst reliability in the country. Our bills are too damn high, and it’s a joke that DTE is trying to act like they’re doing us a favor while holding us captive for a controversial warehouse of computer servers dressed up as the ‘Red Barn Project.’” 

Since 2020, the Michigan Public Service Commission has approved more than $1 billion in annual revenue increases for DTE, an astonishing sum. Meanwhile, Michiganders have tired of grappling with skyrocketing energy costs while corporate profits soar. 

DTE’s announcement of its latest electric rate hike request, which it plans to formally file next week, comes just two months after the company was approved for a $242 million dollar-plus rate hike in February, and will be filed just 4 days after it is legally allowed to do so.

The company reported a profit of $1.46 billion in 2025 – a jump from $1.41 billion in 2024. On an earnings call at the time, executives attributed the increase in profits to raising energy bills on Michigan families and businesses.

Investor reports also clearly show DTE Energy’s CEO and executives received bonuses for years based on how much they are able to raise our bills. In 2025, DTE Energy’s CEO made more than $14 million, for example, despite serving in the role for less than a year.

Here’s more damning research on Michigan utility company greed and poor performance: 

• Research by the advocacy group the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan has repeatedly found Michigan families and businesses pay the highest energy bills in the Midwest yet endure some of the longest power outages in the country.

• A new, first-of-its-kind federal report released earlier this month found Michigan had the highest utility disconnection rate in the Midwest and the 11th-highest number of overall disconnections nationally.

• A new analysis by the Energy & Policy Institute, also released this month, found that since 2017, U.S. utilities have paid their CEOs more than $5.2 billion.

• In that span, average utility CEO pay has risen 47 percent, significantly outpacing inflation and average wage growth for American workers.

• Their pay remains primarily aligned with shareholder returns and profit maximization, objectives that often come at the expense of customers.

• DTE’s CEO pay was among the highest of the 51 utilities our team examined.

The greedy corporation’s constant electric rate hikes affect approximately 2.3 million families and businesses across Southeast Michigan.