Michigan Law
As part of the Law School’s Problem Solving Initiative (PSI), a group of 20 selected U-M graduate students, including six from Michigan Law and five from the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), recently published a comprehensive report about Michigan’s public power options.
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 the PSI course, the students—under the guidance of Andy Buchsbaum, a lecturer at the Law School, and Mike Shriberg, a professor of practice and engagement at SEAS—collaborated with the Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN) and Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC) to explore the issue.
Their comprehensive report, “A Roadmap to Clean and Equitable Power in Michigan,” is the first of its kind, says Shriberg.
“The roadmap…shows that Michigan can move away from investor-owned utility power and get significant benefits, if it does so strategically. No one has done a study like this before in Michigan or elsewhere in the country. It’s the first systematic assessment of alternative options for power provision.”
The students developed the report as part of a PSI course in winter 2024. PSI brings together students and faculty from law and other disciplines to develop creative solutions to complex, real-world problems.
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 alternatives to Michigan’s current utility system are feasible—and 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.”
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.”
As part of the Law School’s Problem Solving Initiative (PSI), a group of 20 selected U-M graduate students, including six from Michigan Law and five from the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), recently published a comprehensive report about Michigan’s public power options.
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 the PSI course, the students—under the guidance of Andy Buchsbaum, a lecturer at the Law School, and Mike Shriberg, a professor of practice and engagement at SEAS—collaborated with the Michigan Climate Action Network (MiCAN) and Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC) to explore the issue.
Their comprehensive report, “A Roadmap to Clean and Equitable Power in Michigan,” is the first of its kind, says Shriberg.
“The roadmap…shows that Michigan can move away from investor-owned utility power and get significant benefits, if it does so strategically. No one has done a study like this before in Michigan or elsewhere in the country. It’s the first systematic assessment of alternative options for power provision.”
The students developed the report as part of a PSI course in winter 2024. PSI brings together students and faculty from law and other disciplines to develop creative solutions to complex, real-world problems.
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 alternatives to Michigan’s current utility system are feasible—and 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.”
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.”
