On March 20, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) held two in-person hearings in areas slammed by this year’s intense ice storms. The storms left almost a million individuals without electricity for days. Michigan’s major utilities (DTE and Consumers Energy) have neglected customers for years, failing to adequately invest in the state's sustainable, reliable, and clean infrastructure.
More than 100 individuals showed up to provide powerful testimony at the hearings in Jackson and Dearborn. People shared stories on how the outages impacted their health, livelihood and peace of mind. Their demands were unanimous: the MPSC must hold these utilities accountable and ensure that families are not left without power for days in freezing temperatures.
Check out Michigan United’s compilation of testimonies about DTE’s outages here.
These hearings came after the Michigan House Energy Committee held a hearing on the outages, inviting representatives from DTE and Consumers, the head of the MPSC, and impacted community members. On March 23, the Michigan Senate Energy Committee held a similar hearing with utility representatives.
While the hearings are a necessary first step, we need action and policies that will prevent these outages from happening again and adequately reimburse customers for their losses when their power is out for days.
Business as usual is not an option for Consumers and DTE.
Find out how you can help hold DTE and Consumers Energy accountable by contacting mike.berkowitz@sierraclub.org.