Nonprofit worries about keeping up with proposed natural gas hike

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Kent County Salvation Army helps hundreds of people pay their natural gas bills each year. That need is growing as food and energy costs continue to rise.

“People who have to make a choice whether to pay their utility bills or whether to eat are going to eat,” said Major Tim Meyer, the Grand Valley Area Commander for the Salvation Army Great Lakes Division. “They have to feed their families and they have to have fuel for their car to get to and from work. So often the utility bill might sit for a little bit. That does catch up with folks.”

Charity workers meet one-on-one with those in need, go through their bills and provide coaching along with financial assistance. Although the Salvation Army Great Lakes Division is based in Grand Rapids, it helps people across the state.

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Nearly 900 Kent County families came to the Salvation Army for utility assistance last fiscal year. This year, the charity is on track to surpass that number as hundreds of families have already sought help.

Now both Consumers Energy and DTE Energy are trying to raise their natural gas rates.

DTE, the main natural gas company in West Michigan, provides the service to 1.3 million customers statewide. DTE is asking the Michigan Public Service Commission for a $266 million annual increase, a nearly 10% increase for residential customers each year. Attorney General Dana Nessel is intervening in that case, and the commission is expected to make a decision as late as November.

Attorney General will look at DTE’s rate increase

DTE says it’s the first price hike it’s asked for since February 2021.

“This filing is just the first step in a ten-month process to determine how much the company can continue investing to replace more than 4,000 miles of aging, cast-iron pipes; manage double-digit inflation on the costs it pays for pipes, meters and other materials; and deliver on our promise of safe service while keeping energy affordable for customers,” DTE Energy wrote in a statement to News 8.

Meanwhile, 1.8 million people across Michigan rely on natural gas from Consumers Energy to heat their homes and businesses. Few of those customers are in West Michigan.

Consumers wants a $136 million increase, raising costs by nearly 6% for residential customers and about 8% for small commercial customers, the attorney general said.

Consumers Energy raises rates by $95M

Nessel is trying to get Consumers to lower its rates instead, saying the commission just approved a natural gas rate hike last month.

“For years we have fought against DTE and Consumer’s rate hikes, coming one right after the last and asking for more and more every time,” Nessel said in a news release. “While Consumers Energy is once again begging the commission to let them squeeze their customers for even more on their gas bill, our experts can show that the customers are actually due a rate decrease.”

In an emailed statement to News 8, Consumers Energy wrote the price hike will help modernize its natural gas system and make it more safe, clean, reliable and affordable. Consumers said the hike ensures it can recover costs so it can strengthen its gas system, improve its work and then pass savings back to customers.

“We know our customers count on us every day and we recognize our responsibility to safely deliver the energy homes and businesses need while keeping bills as low as possible,” a spokesperson wrote. “This action will help fulfill our obligations to deliver energy value for Michigan today and in the decades to come.”

The Salvation Army is able to provide utility assistance because Consumers and DTE help pay for it. When people pay their utility bills, they can also sign up to contribute to the fund.

Utility companies contributed $12.5 million last year and $15 million the prior year, a Salvation Army spokesperson confirmed. The Salvation Army Great Lakes Division has not heard yet if it would receive more money with a price hike.

Meyer said the Salvation Army appreciates how utility companies help provide assistance to those in need but worries what could happen if a price hike comes without a higher contribution.

“If utility bills are higher and if we don’t have more dollars to work with, that means the potential of helping fewer families,” Meyer said.

In that situation, Meyer said the Salvation Army would still refer residents to its food pantry and other programs that can ease the burden on their wallets.

Still, Meyer fears the price hike could lead not only to more people needing help but also fewer donations to the charity.

“People who might otherwise have discretionary money have less of that to give to the Salvation Army,” Meyer said.

The charity said 37% more households, 50% more individuals and 126% more senior citizens are requesting help this year from the food pantry as well.

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