The company that provides natural gas to 1.3 million people across the state told Michigan Messenger that it has just enacted an increase to its gas cost-recovery charge that will raise the average bill during the home heating season to $235 per month — an increase of 35 percent over just last year.
Many are already having trouble paying their gas bills.
Yesterday in “Unpaid bills are causing more utility shut-offs” the L.A. Times reported:

In Michigan, which had the nation’s highest unemployment rate in June — 8.5 percent — Detroit-based DTE Energy reported a 56 percent increase in utility shut-offs for nonpayment of bills for the first five months of this year compared with the same period a year ago.

DTE spokesman Scott Simons would not say how many Michigan households have had their gas shut off or what portion of the company’s customers are behind on gas payments.