Consumers Energy

Beginning today, the amount of money paid for electricity from DTE will depend on what time of day its used. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

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. WEMU’s Josh Hakala reports.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer says widespread power outages due to last week’s ice storm should spur action on re-building and improving infrastructure. We have more from Rick Pluta.

The ice storm that hit Washtenaw County triggered what the Ann Arbor Fire Department is calling its most calls in a single shift in history. WEMU's Josh Hakala reports.

As the climate crisis worsens, the drive to more quickly create sustainable, renewable energy systems is picking up steam. But there are barriers slowing things down. For example, Manchester Township recently denied a permit that would have allowed for a 159-acre solar farm. State House Minority Leader Donna Lasinski represents that part of Washtenaw County, and she shares her perspective with WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak.

Most residential homes and commercial buildings rely heavily on gas power. It leaves a significant carbon footprint at a time when the community is rushing to become carbon neutral. The movement is gaining steam, and, this week, residents can learn more at an electrification expo. WEMU's David Fair got into the details of it all with Julie Roth from the City of Ann Arbor's Office of Sustainability and Innovations.

More than 230 environmental organizations and public interest groups have signed on to a petition asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the utility industry for harming the public by putting up barriers to rooftop solar and renewable energy expansion. WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director, Lisa Wozniak, took a deeper dive into the effort to reign in the power of America’s utility industry with Matt Kasper. Matt is deputy director at the Energy and Policy Institute.

Advocates for municipal or community power utilities in Ann Arbor believe that moving away from a centralized, privately held utility provider to one that is owned and operated by the local government or another state body will provide a better service to the public. It is part of a larger energy conversation being held around the state and country. WEMU’s David Fair checked in with 53rd District State House Representative Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) to see what movement is being made locally and in state government.

There were a number of heavy thunderstorms in late July and early-to-mid August. Almost a million Michiganders lost electricity in the worst of the…

The cost of producing and distributing renewable energy continues to decline. That is changing the energy marketplace. Still, there are a lot of hurdles…