News and Press Releases

After tens of thousands of Ann Arbor-area residents lost electricity this past week, many for multiple days, the campaign for public power is picking up again.

In the wake of recent power outages affecting parts of Michigan, communities in the state recently took steps to explore the option of municipalization.

Residents who lost power after the ice storm in Washtenaw County gathered to voice their frustration at the Pittsfield Township Library Sunday. Officials with the organization “Ann Arbor for Public Power” were listening and offered a new approach to utility service.

Ann Arbor City Council approved a study exploring the feasibility of a publicly-owned power utility in a 10-1 vote on Tuesday evening. The city will contract with NewGen Strategies and Solutions and 5 Lakes Energy to conduct the study as well as an energy options analysis.

Ann Arbor City Council met at Larcom City Hall on Tuesday night to approve DS1, a resolution to hire two companies to analyze energy options formaking the city’s energy source 100% renewable.

"Climate activists with Ann Arbor for Public Power, a grassroots organization that advocates for the city to adopt their own energy utility, gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday, July 5 to boycott the appointment of a DTE official to the Energy Commission."

Despite our city’s alleged commitment to climate action, it was recently announced that a representative from DTE (the utility monopoly that sells power to Southeastern Michigan) was nominated to become a voting member of the Ann Arbor Energy Commission (AAEC). City commissions advise City Council on new laws and generally have significant influence on city policy.

“A2P2 commends City Council for its commitment to the A2Zero plan and to the plan’s broad range of sustainability initiatives,” the organization said. “However, we strongly urge Council to reject the nomination of Knox Cameron to the Energy Commission. DTE Energy, Mr. Cameron’s employer, should not have representation on the Commission, which advises City Council on energy matters.”

Local control over decision making in areas such as renewable energy or reliability offers a key advantage for public power communities, Ursula Schryver, Vice-President of Strategic Member Engagement & Education at the American Public Power Association (APPA), said during a recent event related to public power. She participated in a virtual event on public power around the country and lessons learned for Ann Arbor, Mich., whose City Council earlier this year unanimously adopted a resolution initiating a feasibility study for a public power utility.

Community members gathered at Burns Park Sunday evening to attend a public power festival hosted by Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2), a non-profit organization advocating for the city to municipalize its energy utility and replace DTE Energy, the private utility company currently serving Ann Arbor, with a publicly owned energy utility. The Sunday festival featured live music, educational booths and speeches from guest speakers.

“We can say that we are no longer going to allow a private corporation controlled by a small group of callous and indifferent people to determine what the fate of this world will be. We can invest in our future, we can build a new paradigm and we can say that we are no longer going to accept the world as it is.”