michigan public service commission Archives

MDHHS and LIHEAP: We’ll Pay For Fossil Fuels. Weatherization, Not So Much.

September 2, 2021September 2, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments Brad Banks, cardi b, CMS energy, coal, coal power, Consumers Energy, DTE, DTE Energy, EE&C, energy efficiency, energy efficiency & conservation, energy waste reduction, fossil fuels, fossil gas, Gretchen Whitmer, LIHEAP, LMI, low to moderate income, low-income, maddy kamalay, michigan, michigan department of health and human services, michigan public service commission, MPSC, Nat Zorach, natural gas, the war on coal, WAP, weatherization assistance program, why is DTE so bad

At an MPSC workgroup meeting this morning on Energy Waste Reduction specifically for the low to moderate income (LMI) market

Energy Efficiency Policy Energy Utilities

“Electrification Is Not Enough For Decarbonization” – Consumers Energy

April 6, 2021April 6, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments building decarbonization, carbon transition, decarbonization, demand response, demand-response, distributed generation, electrical grid, electrification, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy transition, energy waste reduction, EWR, Gretchen Whitmer, just transition, michigan, michigan public service commission, MPSC, photovoltaics, policies, policy, pv, rooftop solar, solar panels, state of michigan, utilities, utility, utility infrastructure, utility policy

A new workgroup seeks to address some questions about the future of infrastructure in a state that continues to lag in regulatory and technical innovation.

Energy Efficiency Poverty Energy Utilities

Debt or Asset? How Utility Shutoffs Are About To Be A Big Problem.

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments ACA subsidies, accounts receivable, chevy aveo, debt, double-entry bookkeeping, dr. tony reames, DTE Energy, energy poverty, harvard business school, investor-owned utilities, investor-owned utility, LIHEAP, mercedes g-wagon, michigan public service commission, MPSC, public service commission, public utilities, regulated corporations, regulated entities, Tony Reames, utilities, utility shutoffs, willy wonka, willy wonka rant

Springtime and mounting debt related to COVID19 means utility shutoffs are coming. At least probably. Here are some ideas for how we can fix our broken systems for utility billing– and how we subsidize utilities through programs like LIHEAP without actually moving the needle on energy poverty.

Business & Economics Mobility Energy

EV Charging Infrastructure: From Demand To Reality

February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 Luo Yang 0 Comments akio toyoda, carbuzz, DC charger, DTE, electric vehicle adoption, electric vehicles, EV charging infrastructure, ICE, infrastructure, internal combustion engine, investor-owned utilities, investor-owned utility, IOU, jay traugott, michigan public service commission, modernizing the power grid, power grid, power transmission, prius, public utility, public works, Toyota, toyota prius, undervoltage, who is responsible for building EV charging infrastructure

One of our readers asked us to write a piece about how electric vehicle chargers even get installed at scale.

Energy Efficiency Policy Energy

Detroit’s Green Task Force Looks Toward Benchmarking, PACE, Energy Codes

December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments 2030 district, bali kumar, ben dueweke, bob bedzyk, city of detroit sustainability office, connie lilley, detroit city council, detroit council, detroit public schools, ecologic institute, EcoWorks, elise matz, energy, energy benchmarking, energy efficiency, energy policy, energy waste reduction, energystar, Joel Howrani-Heeres, josh musicant, kendal kuneman, latia leonard, max gruenig, michal helman, michigan public service commission, POCACITO, policy, randy hargraves, Regulation, scott benson, utilities, utility policy, walker-miller, walker-miller energy services

The Energy Waste Reduction Committee of the Detroit Green Task Force met yesterday morning to talk shop for the last

Sustainability Poverty Energy Housing Utilities

MPSC December Meeting: Neighborhood-Level Equity and Energy

December 3, 2020December 3, 2020 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments affordable housing, Brad Banks, Briana Parker, CMS, Consumers Energy, Detroit, DTE Energy, economic justice, Elevate Energy, energy, energy justice, housing, Indiana Michigan Power, mary templeton, metro detroit, michigan, michigan public service commission, MPSC, public utilties, racial justice, racism, redlining, SEAS, segregation, SEMCO, Sharonda Williams-Tack, Sierra Club, Tim Skrotzki, Tony G. Reames, Tony Reames, utilities, water justice

Dr. Tony G. Reames of the University of Michigan, Briana Parker of Elevate Energy, and others presented at an MPSC meeting on some approaches to the question of equity in energy efficiency for low-income communities and communities of color.

Energy Efficiency Environmental Justice Environment Utilities

The Red-Blooded, Gas-Fired Future of Midwestern Energy

October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 Nat M. Zorach 0 Comments coal, DTE Energy, electric grid, electricity, elon musk, energiewende, energy poverty, lignite coal, michigan, michigan public service commission, ontario, photovoltaics, POCACITO, power grid, powerwall, public utilities, pv, renewable energy, solar panels, Tesla, utilities, Zug Island

I attended a forum on DTE’s Integrated Resource Plan Tuesday. The state’s public service commission, an entity that seems to