Monopoly Utility Companies DTE, Consumers have handed out $156,000-plus to lawmakers so far this year

LANSING – The latest campaign finance filings with the state of Michigan, released April 27, show the state’s monopoly utilities, DTE and Consumers Energy, gave out $156,760 dollars to state lawmakers between Jan. 1 and April 20 of this year, with DTE donating $82,250 and Consumers $74,510.

That means more than 60 percent of state lawmakers have taken money from DTE and/or Consumers so far this year, continuing a longstanding pattern of the monopoly utilities using corporate donations to bend the political will in their favor. 

“The latest campaign finance figures show yet again that it’s long past time to get utility money out of politics. While DTE and Consumers make billions of dollars in profits, we pay higher and higher energy bills. Our bills are too damn high, and it’s time state leaders step up to rein in corporate utility greed,” said Alex Kellogg, energy accountability manager for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “Working Michigan families need a Ratepayer Bill of Rights to protect consumers from rising prices, poor service, unfair outage compensation practices, and excessive utility CEO compensation and perks.”

Twenty-one out of 30 lawmakers on the House and Senate Energy Committees took money from monopoly utility companies. 

At a time when skyrocketing energy costs are a growing concern for Michiganders, both utilities provide the most expensive service in the Midwest for some of the worst reliability in the country, according to numerous reports by the independent, non-partisan Citizens Utility Board. 

It’s important to note: The money included in this campaign finance report is just what is publicly reportable — as both DTE and Consumers also fund and run shadowy nonprofits that pour millions into lawmaker-aligned accounts that are not required to disclose their donors.

In 2022, a nonprofit linked to DTE spent close to $5 million, including on lobbying, advertising and contributions to funds associated with elected officials. A Consumers-funded nonprofit reported spending more than $4.5 million that same year on similar activities.

As of last spring, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters’ Digital Scorecard, which has always tracked and scored legislators on their environmental and democracy voting records, also began including how much money their lawmaker is taking from DTE and Consumers Energy (consisting of all publicly-reported campaign finance information and any verifiable dark money contributions).

Alongside updates to the Scorecard, Michigan LCV continues to urge lawmakers to accept our “No Utility Money Challenge,” and refuse political contributions and gifts from these monopoly utility companies so they can remain independent and stand with ratepayers.

A bi-partisan, bi-cameral group of 110 lawmakers and candidates in the 2026 election have signed onto the Challenge, for which lawmakers receive special designation on their Scorecards. 

A broad coalition of organizations and Michiganders, including Michigan LCV, is leading a ballot initiative effort called Mop Up Michigan that would ban DTE and Consumers from donating to lawmakers by vote this fall. To learn more about that important initiative and how to sign the petition to get it on the ballot, visit www.mopupmichigan.org.