Project Dates: January 2025 - April 2026
Client: Energy Equity Project, Justin Schott, Executive Director
SEAS Advisor: Tony G. Reames, Associate Professor; Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice; Director, SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic
SEAS Students: Zoë Bishop (MS, Environmental Justice, John Blake (MS & MPP, Environmental Justice and Environmental Policy), Melissa Lewis (MS, Behavior, Education, and Communication), Bibi Macias (MS, Environmental Justice)
About the Client
The mission of the EEP is to ensure that Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), lower-income, and frontline environmental justice communities have the power to determine their energy futures and secure an equitable share of benefits from the clean energy transition. Their vision is a world without energy shutoffs and with all people having community-controlled, affordable, reliable, clean energy. EEP developed the first standardized national framework for comprehensively measuring and advancing energy equity. Originally founded at SEAS in 2018, EEP and SEAS continue to work in close partnership for a more just and equitable energy transition.
About the Project
The student team collaborated with Energy Equity Project (EEP) to develop a policy framework that equips energy justice advocates, policymakers, and regulators with actionable strategies to end utility shutoffs. The student effort involved utilizing demographic data and case studies to identify households most affected by utility shutoffs, assess how disconnections impact mortality and public health, and evaluate the systemic harms faced by vulnerable populations. The team also interviewed stakeholders and reviewed past campaigns to identify successful strategies that have led to moratoriums or policy changes.
Together, these analyses informed a justice-centered framework to end utility shutoffs and mitigate health risks associated with disconnections.
Read the final report here.