UM’s Justin Schott Supports New Feasibility Study for a Municipal Electric Utility in Ann Arbor

Thank you, Mayor Taylor and Councilmembers. My name is Justin Schott, I teach energy justice at U of M and lead an initiative called the Energy Equity Project. I have worked to  address DTE shortcomings for more than 15 years here and in Detroit, none of these  efforts has sufficiently moved the needle. After Boulder’s municipalization experience I was  skeptical, but over years of research since then I’ve learned that municipalization  campaigns, regardless of whether they result in full municipalization, are almost universally  positive for achieving carbon reductions, financial benefits, and improved reliability. I  support the work of Ann Arbor for Public Power and the need to fund a Phase 2 study so  we can make a fully informed decision.  

The City estimated that last winter’s ice storm, which kept my daughter—and maybe yours,  too–out of school for six days, cost our local government $2 million. The Fire Department  stated it “had no means of emergency communication with DTE. During both events, DTE’s  primary reporting phone number, public safety online portal, and “emergency” call number  were offline or ineffective.” The only thing reliable about DTE is its ineptitude.  

I want to emphasize just how far outside of acceptable behavior and performance DTE  stands compared to even its peer investor-owned utilities.  

During the height of the pandemic, DTE resumed shutoffs much faster than any Michigan  utility, quickly reaching more than 10,000 per month, which landed it on the “Hall of Shame”  – a national list of the 12 worst offenders. At the same time, enrollment in DTE’s affordable  payment plans has been cut by half. DTE has an excellent track record of punishing people  who live in poverty.

DTE is the only utility in the Michigan that sold its customers debt to a third-party collection  agency, at less than 2 cents on the dollar, and removed 1,400 streetlights in a majority black city, Highland Park. 

Prior to last February’s ice storm, DTE disclosed that it cut $124 million in maintenance  expenses, but did manage to make a $700 million dividend payout to investors and then turned around to request a $622 million rate increase from MPSC. The math has never  added up.  

DTE manipulates the system that is supposed to regulate its monopoly by pouring tens of  millions of ratepayer dollars into dark money campaigns and direct contributions to political  candidates. DTE consistently opposes the solutions we need in Ann Arbor, like community  solar, and misrepresented Black and Brown-led non-profits as opposing solar without their  

knowledge or consent. Even among its peers, DTE is a rogue utility, and the consequences  to we the people have been even worse than many could have imagined.  

If DTE were not a monopoly and had to submit a proposal to work with the City, I’m  confident you would reject it for a slew of environmental, ethical, financial and performance related grounds. DTE has an existing contract with the City that is failing. At the very least,  we owe it to the Ann Arbor community to do our due diligence and understand our full  options and costs for getting out of this insidious relationship. Please fund the Phase 2  feasibility study. Thank you.  

Justin Schott is a lecturer at UM’s School for Environment And Sustainability (SEAS). He  serves as Project Manager of the Energy Equity Project (EEP), a collaborative initiative  housed at University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. To bolster a  just transition to cleaner, more resilient energy systems, the EEP developed the first  standardized national framework for comprehensively measuring and advancing energy  equity.