News and Press Releases

At its Monday March 3rd City Council meeting, Ann Arbor City Council narrowly voted down two resolutions that would have prepared the city to move forward with taking their energy utility under public ownership. Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2), a grassroots organization that has been advocating for public power in Ann Arbor for the last 5 years, rallied outside of city hall and then filled the Ann Arbor City Council chambers with approximately 75 people in attendance. 

  Context: DTE paid for this study, so the report should be viewed with great skepticism. DTE wants to make the potential costs of municipalization look as high as possible. The report by noted Big-Oil propagandist Charles River Associates (CRA) is designed to stoke public fears about the cost of a municipal utility, not to...

“We’re very excited the City of Ann Arbor is preparing to take the necessary steps to achieve public power,” said Ann Arbor for Public Power President Greg Wooding, “we’re closer than ever to freeing ourselves from DTE’s dirty and unreliable power.” 

  The study should produce a complete valuation of DTE’s assets. The current study proposal, while it does include a thorough field survey of DTE’s physical assets, does not provide enough funds (only 2% of the study’s overall price) for addressing intangible costs, which is the area of biggest need.

The voters of Ann Arbor approved ‘Proposition A’ by over 79% on Tuesday, advancing the city’s plan for a local ‘Sustainable Energy Utility’ (SEU). The passage of the SEU is a step towards the full-scale public electricity envisioned by Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ann Arbor for Public Power Calls for Proper Feasibility Study Ann Arbor, Michigan.  In late August, the city of Ann Arbor issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a phase 2 municipalization feasibility study, with a budget of up to $1 million. This study should ideally help the community decide whether to...

Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 18, 2024.  At the urging of Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2) and its supporters, the Ann Arbor City Council recently approved up to $1 million for a second study to determine the feasibility of local public ownership of DTE Energy’s antiquated grid. The study will determine the value of DTE...

"...analysis found many errors in the study, which distorted its conclusions regarding the feasibility of a municipal electric utility (MEU). Importantly, the study vastly overestimates the high end acquisition cost. Also, the study’s assumption that the MEU cannot be accomplished by 2030 is not supported by evidence, and the basis of the MEU’s equity & justice rating is incorrect."

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...

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...

  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)...

    A2P2 Hosts Town Hall with Yousef Rabhi In the midst of the recent power outages, we held a town hall for community members to express their frustrations with the state of DTE's electricity service. Hear a presentation on why we believe Public Power can help prevent outages like this in the future, hear...