DETROIT – DTE Energy officials said they expect more than a quarter-million additional electric vehicles on the road across southeast Michigan by 2028 and they intend to build the chargers to power them.
The utility company plans to invest $145 million to provide rebates for 19,300 chargers alongside additional private funding and federal grant dollars to collectively build 270,000 EV chargers in the coming years at public locations, as well as both single-family homes and multi-family buildings.
The Michigan Public Service Commission ordered the company to prepare the plan in November 2022 as part of a prior electric rate case. The commission said it would consider these transportation electrification costs when considering future rate changes.
The proposed three-year plan will be reviewed as part of the company’s next rate case and will launch in 2025, if approved by regulators.
Regulated utilities in Michigan cannot increase electric rates because of expenses without state approval of what is considered reasonable and prudent.
Pina Bennet, DTE Energy’s director of electric sales and marketing, said the cost of having an EV charger installed at home can be a significant barrier for lower-income households. The company intends to rebate not only the cost of an EV charger for qualifying homes, but also pay for what can be significant installation costs.
(Editors Note: Pina Bennet will appear Jan. 29 on MITechTV).
“That’s part of our equity guiding principles, is to help remove some of the barriers,” Bennett said.
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