Unreliable service, unaffordable rates: Ann Arbor coalition aims to municipalize electricity
People's World

Unreliable service, unaffordable rates: Ann Arbor coalition aims to municipalize electricity

As the weather continues to tease an early spring, one thing that residents of Southeast Michigan constantly worry about is what has yet to come. Although it’s true that we are on the upswing of the season and nearing spring, we are not normally out of the clear when it comes to a late snow or ice storm until well into the new season. It is not so much the weather itself that leaves many residents wary, but specifically what power outages may result from it.
Group continues to fight for public utilities in Ann Arbor
CBS Detroit

Group continues to fight for public utilities in Ann Arbor

The city of Ann Arbor is positioning itself to provide its own public utilities and potentially move away from DTE. The effort was prompted by an organization called Ann Arbor for Public Power. "It's the only real path forward we have solving this issue," said Greg Woodring, the president and founder of Ann Arbor for Public Power.
UM’s Justin Schott Supports New Feasibility Study for a  Municipal Electric Utility in Ann Arbor

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...
‘Energy is central to our lives:’ Ann Arbor group releases proposal on city-owned power system
Click On Detroit

‘Energy is central to our lives:’ Ann Arbor group releases proposal on city-owned power system

A Tree Town coalition calling for city-owned electric power has released a proposal detailing how the municipal utility would be governed. Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2) has been advocating for a completely renewable and public-owned electric utility system. The nonprofit is made up of residents and organizations hoping to move away from using investor-owned power companies.
Ann Arbor for Public Power calls for a Phase II Feasibility Study
Ann Arbor for Public Power

Ann Arbor for Public Power calls for a Phase II Feasibility Study

Since July 2021, when the Ann Arbor Energy Commission first took up a resolution for a municipal electric utility feasibility study, A2P2 and city staff have been considering the municipalization option and its promise of a cleaner, more reliable electricity supply. In September, 2023, consulting firm 5Lakes Energy delivered its report, “City of Ann Arbor 100% Renewable Energy Options Analysis.” Among its conclusions was the following: “We suggest that the City authorize a Phase 2 Feasibility Study to characterize more precisely the costs and risks of the MEU [Municipal Electric Utility] approach.”
Proposed Municipal Electric Utility Governance Structure
Ann Arbor for Public Power

Proposed Municipal Electric Utility Governance Structure

Ann Arbor for Public Power's proposed governance structure for a municipal electric utility in Ann Arbor.
Kauai became a clean energy leader. Its secret? A publicly owned grid
Canary Media

Kauai became a clean energy leader. Its secret? A publicly owned grid

LIHUE, Hawaii — It’s hard to find anywhere in the United States that has greened its electricity supply as quickly as verdant Kauai. And the people of Kauai achieved that on their own, through collective ownership of the electricity grid, not by hoping profit-maximizing utilities find a way to balance the urgency of human-caused climate change with quarterly dividends for shareholders.
Meet the communities trying to take over their local electric utility
Grist

Meet the communities trying to take over their local electric utility

limate activists have set their sights on a new target in the fight to slow global warming: utilities. Around a dozen communities across the country have launched campaigns to get rid of their investor-owned electric utilities — the for-profit companies that distribute electricity to three-quarters of U.S. households — and replace them with publicly owned ones.
Ann Arbor for Public Power: Michigan Regulators  Reward DTE for Poor Reliability with Large Rate Hike

Ann Arbor for Public Power: Michigan Regulators Reward DTE for Poor Reliability with Large Rate Hike

Michigan Regulators Reward DTE for Poor Reliability with Large Rate Hike Ann Arbor, Michigan, December 15, 2023.  On December 1, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) granted DTE Electric a $368 million rate increase, effective today. A typical residential customer using 500 kilowatt hours of electricity per month will see an increase of $6.51, or...
It’s time for public power in A2
Washtenaw Jewish News

It’s time for public power in A2

In the summer of 2021, Southeastern Michigan was slammed with two major rainstorms that upturned the lives of countless residents. Apocalyptic images circulated of cars stranded on I-94 and houses completely inundated. And all too predictably, in the chaos over 800,000 Michiganders lost power.
City-funded Study Shows Public Power is Feasible

City-funded Study Shows Public Power is Feasible

  City-funded Study Shows Public Power is Feasible Ann Arbor, Michigan, September 22nd 2023 — Today the city of Ann Arbor released the draft report, “100 Percent Renewable Energy Options Analysis,” produced by policy consulting firm 5 Lakes Energy. The top line results of the financial assessment show that a city-owned municipal electric utility (MEU)...
‘An ongoing issue’: Frustration grows after outages close 5 Ann Arbor schools on first day
WXYZ

‘An ongoing issue’: Frustration grows after outages close 5 Ann Arbor schools on first day

Power outages are impacting the first day of school in Ann Arbor, and some parents are growing frustrated. On any other beautiful August day, Samantha McCully would love nothing more than to watch her kids play basketball in the driveway. But Monday was not that day.