In 2021, Krystal Steward began canvassing her Ann Arbor, Michigan neighborhood to promote energy efficiency and sustainability improvements. To her surprise, many residents responded with confusion.
Though she was initially unfamiliar with these topics, Steward, a seasoned social worker, persevered in her role with the Community Action Network, a nonprofit focused on supporting under-resourced communities. Gradually, she gained traction, first encouraging neighbors to undergo home energy assessments, and later to participate in a city initiative to upgrade appliances and undertake structural improvements.
“Initially, it was challenging—many were skeptical. When someone knocks and claims to offer free home improvements, most people doubt it,” Steward explained. However, “Once one person participated and shared their experience, others followed suit,” she added.
Now, the Bryant neighborhood is poised to launch a pioneering program aimed at accelerating the city’s shift to renewable energy and providing a template for local governments to manage their energy needs.
This innovative approach has generated excitement in Bryant and Ann Arbor: a city-established Sustainable Energy Utility, or SEU. Instead of replacing Ann Arbor’s private utility, this municipal agency will operate alongside it, offering an optional service to residents.
Residents who opt in will remain connected to the main grid but will also have solar panels, battery backups, or other infrastructure installed. They can use this power at home and possibly sell any surplus. The city will cover the cost of installation and maintenance, retaining ownership, and distributing energy generation and storage throughout Ann Arbor.
The project is set to launch soon in Bryant, a community from the 1970s with approximately 260 homes, many officially “energy burdened.” According to Derrick Miller, Community Action Network’s executive director, a quarter of residents spend over a third of their income on utilities in this area, one of the few in Ann Arbor with unsubsidized affordable housing.
The SEU represents a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to tackle Bryant’s energy challenges and aims to extend this strategy citywide.
“Four years ago, discussing neighborhood decarbonization seemed far-fetched. Now, it feels unstoppable,” Miller remarked.
Two parallel utilities
The SEU gained momentum in November 2024, when nearly 80% of Ann Arbor voters approved a ballot measure for the proposal. Over a year later, city officials are set to bring this vision to life, according to SEU Executive Director Shoshannah Lenski.
In late February, the city called for expressions of interest from residents and businesses, supported by community meetings, animated videos, and ads in local theater playbills.
Participants will receive two utility bills—one for the city-owned clean energy systems and another for any power still drawn from the regular grid. Lenski and colleagues believe this will be cheaper than current bills.
“Like customers don’t own power plants, the city owns and finances the system, with electricity paid through monthly bills,” Lenski explained. She highlighted the model’s potential for renters, often excluded from green energy incentives. Expanding to large multifamily units will be key to SEU’s growth, she noted.
Besides installing clean systems at homes, the SEU could create microgrids, distinguishing it from other municipal programs. For example, solar panels on a school could power the building during school hours and supply other SEU customers when not in use.
Proponents argue this strategy allows Ann Arbor to expand its green energy system with minimal financial risk and potential pushback.
“When combined with DTE’s clean energy investments, these voluntary, fee-based programs advance economy-wide decarbonization while maintaining reliability and affordability,” said Ryan Lowry, a spokesperson for DTE Energy, the city’s current energy provider, via email.
While DTE’s support might seem unexpected, experts say many utilities face unprecedented power demands, making local government assistance an asset. DTE will not officially participate in the SEU.
So far, over 1,500 people citywide have expressed interest in joining. The SEU aims to serve 100 to 150 Bryant customers this year, expand to 1,000 next year, and continue growing by several thousand annually.
A missing 40%
This initiative addresses a challenge from Ann Arbor’s 2020 climate plan.
The plan called for a fully renewable energy grid within ten years, but a 2023 analysis predicted a 40% shortfall. Achieving this would require urging DTE to speed up its renewable energy efforts, pressuring state officials, or creating a separate city-owned utility—a concept with some local support.
However, these options were deemed too risky or uncertain until officials realized Michigan’s constitution permits municipalities to operate their own utility alongside others, according to Lenski.
“This led to the SEU’s creation,” she said.
University of Michigan researchers compared four options and found the SEU model had the best potential to reduce energy costs and emissions, enhance reliability, and support low-income communities.
“Ultimately, it offered some local control benefits without the costs,” said Mike Shriberg, a professor who led the research, suggesting this model could work nationwide.
Nonetheless, some feel the strategy falls short. Advocates seeking to replace DTE with a wholly Ann Arbor-owned utility are pursuing a November ballot measure to initiate this process. Signature collection is underway.
Brian Geiringer, executive director of the advocacy group Ann Arbor for Public Power, criticized the SEU plan for leaving too much of the city’s energy transition dependent on DTE.
If voters approve a fully public utility, Geiringer believes it could coexist with the SEU: The SEU could focus on local generation, while a public utility manages external power purchases.
“Imagine Ann Arbor as a circle; the SEU operates inside, while we want city control over what comes from outside,” Geiringer explained.
Local control
Similar to Ann Arbor, hundreds of cities aim to meet climate objectives but face obstacles when trying to control energy sources.
“Cities set these goals, but utilities aren’t bound to comply,” said Matthew Popkin, manager for U.S. cities and communities at RMI, an energy think tank.
“Ann Arbor’s SEU shows how cities can take charge of their future without dismantling existing utilities,” Popkin said. “This is an intriguing model.”
Other examples exist. Washington, D.C.’s Sustainable Energy Utility has functioned for 15 years, enhancing energy efficiency and clean energy access through subsidies and rebates.
Though narrower in scope than Ann Arbor’s vision, this initiative supports the city’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, said managing director Benjamin Burdick, and has cut 10 million metric tons of emissions while saving residents over $2 billion on energy.
Nationally, “the question is balancing climate discussions with affordability,” Burdick stated. “Programs like D.C.’s SEU will continue to be crucial.”
Ann Arbor’s efforts are now being recognized nationwide.
“I was drawn to Ann Arbor’s emphasis on citizen involvement and grid co-investment,” said Jim Gilbert, a retired medical product designer from Boulder, Colorado, who is assisting his city in evaluating the Ann Arbor model.
Facing power outages from climate impacts and aging infrastructure, Boulder is considering an SEU as a potential solution, Gilbert reported.
In Ann Arbor, as the city gears up for the SEU’s initial pilot, the goal is to reach half of Bryant by year’s end—and residents are enthusiastic, Steward shared.
Older residents, in particular, are eager, benefiting from reduced energy bills on fixed incomes, Steward added.
“I can barely keep up,” Steward said. “Now residents are reaching out to me to sign up; my phone is constantly ringing.”
