News and Press Releases

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.”

Six local leaders and experts in sustainability and energy met to discuss the potential for public power in Ann Arbor. The event was the first of an ongoing series of round tables hosted by the organization Ann Arbor for Public Power.

"Supporters of forming a municipal electric utility to replace DTE Energy as Ann Arbor’s power provider are inviting the public to learn more about the idea."

"Someone must 'spearhead' the development of this utility by promoting the concept to the community, discussing with the local government and handling legal aspects, and the University of Michigan is an institution large enough to do so if they wished."