Dive Brief:
- Simeon Anderson, a former Consumers Energy employee, has filed a suit in Federal charging that the Jackson, Michigan-based utility fraudulently overcollected $3 billion in revenue from customers, the state of Michigan and the federal government.
- Anderson, who is seeking class action status for the suit, alleges that Consumers Energy overstated in a rate case how much electricity consumers used and how high its expenses were. Anderson raised similar charges at the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC), but withdrew the complaint in December.
- Consumers Energy denies the charges.
Dive Insight:
Utilities are sued all the time. CMS Energy, which owns Consumers Energy, lists several suits in its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CMS Energy notes that it is involved in several court cases involving natural gas index price reporting and environmental issues. The company does not mention the Anderson lawsuit, likely indicating that CMS Energy does not think it has significant merit.
It is hard to picture the PSC or the Michigan Attorney General's office, which represents ratepayers, not taking a hard look at the allegations if they were credible. Anderson worked at Consumers Energy for less than a year starting in July 2011. It seems doubtful that the suit has legs.
