As Michigan works to achieve its clean energy and energy justice goals outlined in the MI Climate Action Plan, the traditional Investor-Owned Utility (IOU) model for providing electricity is often an obstacle to progress.

In collaboration with the Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN) and Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC), a group of 20 selected U-M graduate students, including five from the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) and six from Michigan Law School, recently published a comprehensive report about Michigan’s public power options.

The report, “A Roadmap to Clean and Equitable Power in Michigan,” was developed as part of the students’ Problem Solving Initiative (PSI) course in Winter 2024. PSI courses bring together students and faculty from law and other disciplines to develop creative solutions to complex, real-world problems.

“The roadmap is a comprehensive, well-done analysis with a bottom line that shows that Michigan can move away from Investor-Owned Utility power and get significant benefits, if it does so strategically,” said Mike Shriberg (MS ’00, PhD ’02), a Professor of Practice and Engagement at SEAS who co-taught the PSI course with Andy Buchsbaum, a lecturer at the Law School.

“No one has done a study like this before in Michigan or elsewhere in the country,” he added. “It’s the first systematic assessment of alternative options for power provision.”

Shriberg and Buchsbaum were approached by MiCAN and MEJC to research the thorny topic of alternatives to IOUs, which are private enterprises acting as public utilities.

“MiCAN and MEJC wanted us to think big and think long-term about what an alternative to our current system of IOUs could look like,” said Buchsbaum. “Our goal was to help create a pathway for a new vision for electricity in the state that could be used by advocacy groups and lawmakers so that they could compare the different options and decide on next steps.”

The roadmap examines four alternatives to the traditional IOU model for delivering electricity in the state of Michigan. The students assessed each of the options against climate, energy justice, reliability, and affordability goals.

The four options include:

• Reforming the Michigan Public Service Commission’s authority, authorizing legislation, and rules overseeing IOUs, focusing on those that alter IOU incentive structures;
• Creating a statewide public power authority that replaces IOUs;
• Creating municipally-owned utilities to replace IOUs at the local level; and
• Utilizing Sustainable Energy Utilities (SEUs) to provide a municipal utility alternative that works alongside (and can compete with) the existing IOUs.

A key takeaway from the report is that not only are alternatives to Michigan’s current utility system feasible, but they are more equitable than IOUs. 

“What this report shows is that there are alternatives that not only would help with energy access, but also perform better than our existing power structure,” said Denise Keele, executive director of MiCAN. “However, it’s going to take political courage to change, and it's going to take a substantial amount of time and effort.” 

Margerie Snider (BA ’19, MS ’24), one of the SEAS students who took the PSI course, said the class included opportunities to learn from experts in the electric utility field, including engineers, public utility commissioners and city officials. She said she hopes the final roadmap will contribute to the conversation about alternative electricity options in the state of Michigan—and spur information sharing and action. 

“Prior to the course, I had not thought much about how electricity is delivered to my home, or what types of mechanisms are in place to regulate these utilities to ensure I am receiving affordable, reliable, and clean power,” said Snider, who graduated last spring and is now working as a technical specialist for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

“This class taught me that there is a lot of work to be done to push our utilities to obtain goals prioritized by its customers via state utility commissions.”

Shriberg added that he was impressed with the thoughtfulness and effort that students put into the class. “I have rarely worked with such motivated and determined students,” he said. “This is some of the best student work I've seen.”

Juan Jhong-Chung, executive director of MEJC, agreed. “The student work is extraordinary and can help our coalition advocate for more clean, just and equitable energy policies at the state level.”

In addition to Snider, the other U-M students who took the PSI course and developed the roadmap include Claire Arneson (Physics), Leon Boykins (Law), Sarah Cohen (Business), Yasmine Choucair (Law), Tim Dalrymple (Law), Sneha Durgapal (Public Policy), Robert O’Gara (Law), Elizabeth Healy (Engineering), Eneida Hysi (Public Policy), Ally Martin (SEAS), Nicole Mueller (Law), Emily Shupp Parker (Social Work), Francisco Rentería (SEAS/Public Policy), Hannah Rubens (Public Health), Zoe Salamey (Public Policy), Amar Shabeeb (Law), Prarthana Shevatekar (Information), Carmen Wagner (SEAS/Public Policy) and Sarah Wells (SEAS/Public Policy).

Read the final report: “A Roadmap to Clean and Equitable Power in Michigan”

Shriberg, Buchsbaum and some of the PSI students will present the roadmap at the 2024 Michigan Climate Summit on September 26 at the University of Michigan. “How To: Roadmap to Public Power” will be held from 11 a.m. to noon in the Wolverine Room at the Michigan Union. Learn more and register.