A group pushing for a publicly-owned power utility in Ann Arbor says it will take that issue to the ballot.
Ann Arbor for Public Power has announced that it intends to collect petition signatures to put the issue before voters in November 2026. The ballot proposal would create a public electric utility and a board to govern it, with the eventual goal of taking over service from DTE Energy and buying power from only renewable energy sources.
DTE Energy, the city's current electricity provider, has said it's pursuing net-zero carbon emissions, but still plans to use natural gas to generate power while offsetting its emissions in other ways.
Brian Geiringer, executive director of Ann Arbor for Public Power, said that since city officials considered taking a step toward creating a public utility, before ultimately rejecting it earlier this year, the group is trying a different tactic. “Basically we're going to collect 5,000 signatures from Ann Arborites, and see if this is something that people want to move forward with,” he said.
Geiringer said the group will start collecting signatures while finalizing the ballot proposal. “We do not have the exact language yet, and we are hoping that people will participate in helping create it,” he said.
Publicly-owned utilities are not a new idea — there are around 40 already in existence across Michigan. Geiringer and other proponents suggest that such a setup would provide Ann Arbor residents with cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable power than DTE currently does. A DTE spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Geiringer said that if the ballot language is approved and the measure is ultimately passed by voters, that would only be the first step toward cutting ties with DTE and shifting to 100% renewable power. The next step would be a valuation of DTE’s Ann Arbor infrastructure so that the public utility could acquire it, a process Geiringer said he expects to involve a legal battle.
“As far as we understand it, they [DTE] don't have a legal right to challenge the takeover, but they have a legal right to challenge the cost,” Geiringer said.
DTE Energy is among Michigan Public's corporate sponsors.
