Can Utilities Be Held Financially Liable For Outages?

In the aftermath of recent power outages that saw as much as 20% of the population of the state of Michigan without power, this article outlines some ideas on what specific things we should be asking about or thinking about in trying to hold utilities accountable.

Read more

The Anatomy of a Power Outage in Michigan

The power went out. Then the ice melted. A few days later, the snow came, and the power went out– again. Now that the snow is gone, what’s next?

Read more

Community Solar: Coming To A Michigan Near You?

DTE and CMS took the unusual step of tag-teaming a new announcement about community solar, a novel model for photovoltaic power generation development, in the Mitten state, where fossil fuels continue to dominate the generation mix.

Read more

Energy Burden: How To Measure? How To Reduce?

Measuring energy burden is relatively straightforward. Figuring out how to create robust metrics for it, though– and how to address it- is much more challenging.

Read more

Better Utility Regulation: How We Can Get Out Of This Mess

Too much regulation restricts innovation. But too little regulation does the same, and this is what we see in the crumbling infrastructure of Michigan, where regulators are asleep at the wheel in the name of a “business-friendly regulatory” environment that, as it turns out, is neither terribly regulatory nor terribly business-friendly.

Read more

Solar Power and EV’s, If Your Local Grid Is Up For The Challenge

Power grids are complex things. Understanding the local grid capacity– as visualized by one mapping tool- can help us plan for things like rooftop solar or electric vehicle adoption.

Read more

Time-Of-Use Pricing Is Coming. Here’s How To Make Sure You’re Ready.

Time-of-use pricing is (most likely) coming to a utility near you, if it hasn’t arrived already. Here’s what you need to know.

Read more

“Electrification Is Not Enough For Decarbonization” – Consumers Energy

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.

Read more

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

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.

Read more