Accountable to us
There are already 40 municipal utilities across Michigan, accountable to their customers. This is a necessary, though not fully sufficient, step towards a sustainable future. Local public control makes a difference. For example, when Lansing experienced a prolonged power outage in 2013 the Lansing Board of Water & Light heard from their customers and instituted over 100 improvements. They have not experienced major power outages since, unlike our experiences with DTE. They also give customers $2,000 when they install rooftop solar, in stark contrast with DTE that fights in Lansing to limit this to 1% of customers.