Michigan · Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC)

Auditing DTE Energy commercial bills

Southeast Michigan, including Detroit, Ann Arbor and the Thumb region.

DTE Electric serves southeast Michigan, one of the densest concentrations of manufacturing and retail load in the Midwest. Michigan caps electric retail choice at roughly ten percent of each utility's load, so most commercial sites take bundled service from DTE under the MPSC-approved rate book. DTE's commercial schedules use letter and number codes: D3 General Service for low to moderate use, D4 Large General Service for higher use with steady demand, and D11 Primary Supply for customers who own their own transformation equipment. Variants such as D3.3 interruptible service add further options. Power supply and delivery appear as separate components, with a power supply cost recovery factor that changes over time. For multi-site operators, the frequent DTE findings are sites on D3 when D4's demand pricing would cost less, demand and power factor charges on primary accounts, and estimated reads followed by catch-up bills. Sales tax treatment of manufacturing use is another common issue.

Practice notes

Michigan's exemption for industrial processing allows a manufacturer to buy electricity used in qualifying production without sales tax, often for a percentage of total use supported by a study. The utility needs the exemption claim on file. When it is missing or outdated, sales tax is overpaid on every bill, and past tax recovery goes through a separate process from billing corrections.

Compare D3 and D4 using a full year of data. D4 pricing rewards steady demand, so a distribution center running two shifts can save on D4, while a store with short evening peaks may not. A rate change is prospective, so the saving comes from making the switch early rather than waiting for the next review.

Check catch-up bills after estimated periods. When DTE replaces estimates with an actual read, the true-up should spread usage across the estimated months at the prices in effect for each. Catch-up bills that price all usage at the current month's rate, or push usage into a higher tier, are recoverable.

Back-billing and refunds

Billing corrections at DTE Electric are governed by the Michigan Public Service Commission's billing practice rules for commercial and industrial customers and DTE's rate book. Those rules set how bills are corrected after meter errors and billing mistakes and limit how far back the utility can bill for undercharges. Overcharge refunds are calculated for the affected periods within the applicable limits. Disputed claims can be escalated to the MPSC's complaint process. We file as soon as the error is documented.

Findings we see most often

Wrong rate schedule
High-load-factor sites on D3 that would pay less on D4, or low-load-factor sites on D4.
Power factor penalties
Power factor charges on primary accounts calculated with reactive readings that do not match the metering.
Estimated reads never trued up
Several months of estimated reads at sites with inaccessible meters, followed by a large catch-up bill.
Sales tax on exempt usage
Michigan sales tax charged on electricity used in industrial processing where an exemption claim is on file.

Commercial schedules we check

Schedule	Applies to	What we check
D3General Service	Commercial accounts with low to moderate energy use.	Model the account on D4 with twelve months of data. High-load-factor sites often pay less on demand-based pricing.
D3.3Interruptible General Service	General service customers with load that can be interrupted at DTE's request.	Check interruption event records against penalty charges and confirm the interruptible load is metered separately and correctly.
D4Large General Service	Customers with higher energy use and steady, predictable kW demand, not combined with General Service.	Rebuild billed demand from interval data and check whether a low load factor site would pay less on D3.
D11Primary Supply	Customers taking service at primary, subtransmission or transmission voltage who own their transformation equipment, with contracted capacity of at least 50 kW at one location.	Verify the contracted capacity, voltage level, demand and power factor provisions against the service contract and interval data.

Schedule names and eligibility summarized from the utility's published tariff. The utility's current tariff book governs.

DTE Energy questions

Only within Michigan's retail choice cap, which limits choice to about ten percent of each utility's load, so most sites take bundled service from DTE.

Yes. DTE Gas is a separate utility with its own tariff, and we audit those accounts against it.

We identify the overpayment and prepare the support. The exemption claim is signed by your company and filed with the utility.

Audit your DTE Energy accounts.

Connect bills for up to 50 meters. Get the findings report in about three weeks. Pay nothing unless money comes back.

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from bill access to first findings report: 21 daysfrom bill access to first findings report
of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part: 94%of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part