DTE Energy’s natural gas customers are seeing milder heating bills this season as the cost of natural gas continues to fall. For the fourth consecutive month, DTE is passing those savings on to its customers through the monthly gas cost recovery (GCR) charge to help customers better manage their budgets through the winter.
With this latest reduction, DTE has cut the price GCR customers pay for natural gas by 60 cents, or 20 percent, since October 2019. The new rate will be set at $2.20 per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas. This is the lowest price customers have seen in the past 10 years, and comes during the months when natural gas usage is typically at its highest.
As a regulated energy company, DTE passes its cost for natural gas on to customers with zero markup, meaning customers benefit directly when the price of natural gas falls.
“Keeping energy costs affordable for our customers, especially during the winter, is one of our top priorities,” said Dan Brudzynski, vice president of Gas Sales & Supply, DTE Gas. “When our natural gas costs come down, we pass these savings directly to our GCR customers, which results in lower winter energy bills.”
These price reductions are automatically reflected on customer bills issued beginning February 1, but only for those customers who purchase their gas from DTE. Customers who participate in the gas choice program and have enrolled with an alternative gas supplier will continue to pay their contracted rate and will not see savings from this reduction.
DTE remains responsible for reading meters and printing bills, maintaining a safe and reliable natural gas distribution system and responding to emergencies. However, customers enrolled with an alternative gas supplier purchase the actual gas they use each month from that company at an unregulated rate.
“We recommend that all consumers regularly examine their bill and review their costs for natural gas no matter who their provider is,” said Brudzynski. “The Michigan Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) website is an excellent resource for customers to see how the price they pay compares to DTE and other providers.”
The MPSC’s price comparison tool is available at Michigan.gov/CompareMIGas. For more information about how DTE’s prices are set, visit dteenergy.com/price.
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