Ann Arbor for Public Power Calls for Objective and Timely Phase 2 Study

“We’re grateful for the city funding, and we believe that an objective and properly designed Phase 2 study will show that public ownership of DTE’s local grid is technically and economically feasible,” says A2P2 Executive Director Brian Geiringer. “Regardless, any taxpayer-funded study should ask the right questions and avoid errors. The public deserves a clear and fair outcome, delivered as soon as possible without compromising results.”

A2P2 strongly disagrees with city staff on one key point. A2P2 believes that the study should arrive at a single, thoroughly researched and legally defensible valuation of DTE’s assets, rather than a range of costs as staff has proposed. Such a precise valuation is standard practice for Phase 2. Ultimately, a Circuit Court judge will set a dollar figure, informed by a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) panel. But the city, using expert contract engineers and a specialized outside legal team, can determine a reasonably accurate valuation in advance. That is critical for helping the public decide whether it’s worth starting an acquisition process that DTE will strongly oppose. 

Such a valuation will also enable the city’s lawyers to confidently move forward with the condemnation of DTE’s assets, as state law allows, should Ann Arbor decide to take that important step. “We owe it to the public to thoroughly research and deliver a valuation,” says Geiringer. “We shouldn’t give up on that goal before we even start. That plays right into DTE’s hands.”

The public also deserves an objective study. A2P2 employed an outside expert to document multiple errors in Phase 1 involving improper application of the FERC ‘stranded cost’ rule. These cumulative errors greatly inflated the high-end valuation of DTE’s assets. The city has not acknowledged these errors, and the same ones, or others, may compromise the Phase 2 results. “The city needs to conduct Phase 2 in good faith,” says Geiringer. “We hope our elected officials take these concerns to heart.” 

The study also should begin soon, starting with the Request for Proposals (RFP). For the Phase 1 study, seventeen months elapsed from RFP to report release, and another five months for city staff to deliver recommendations. “The city needs to move quickly,” says Geiringer. “2026 is an election year, and the Phase 2 study will provide critical information to the public. What’s at stake is a clean, reliable, and democratic energy future for Ann Arbor.”

Ann Arbor for Public Power, a nonprofit grassroots citizen group, has been leading the municipalization effort since 2020. For more information, go to https://annarborpublicpower.org