Blog

MPSC Affordability Collaborative Sets Out Goals, Schedules Next Meeting

Imagine your sole source of heating in the midst of a harsh Michigan winter is your kitchen’s oven. That is not just a hypothetical situation. Bethany Stutzman, community solutions director at United Way of Jackson County, said she has seen it happen when visiting a client, and it is especially worrying when there are children […]

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Smart Home app with home in background

New Efforts Aiming At Protection of Valuable Consumer Energy Data

There has been a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for ā€œsmartā€ energy technologies that can empower consumers to cut their energy bills, improve their efficiency and use more clean energy through smart thermostats, rooftop solar, battery storage and more. The fuel for all of these tools is data. Data in easily accessible digital form is more

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Michigan Environmental Justice Conference

CUB Executive Director Amy Bandyk Speaks On Panel At Michigan Environmental Justice Conference

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Michigan talks a lot in this space about how Michigan has unaffordable energy and how lower-income communities are especially burdened by high energy bills. How does Michigan, as a community, address these inequities (which fall disproportionately on communities of color)? What’s more, as the state and other players try

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Building Energy Code Impacts in the Midwest

Building Codes: Little Noticed, But Have Big Impacts On Your Utility Bills

A very simple way to save money on your utility bill is to use less energy in the first place. It can be difficult, however, to change one’s habits around energy use. That is why efficiency upgrades to living environments—better insulation to keep the house airtight, high-performance windows that maximize sunlight in winter and minimize

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Energy bill

Michigan Energy Consumers Need Help Paying Their Bills, So A New Collaborative Effort Is Needed

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Michigan has been calling for an overhaul of programs to assist Michigan utility customers, particularly low-income and/or elderly customers. So we are happy to see a new effort underway by state regulators to figure out exactly how to fix many of the problems with existing aid programs. This effort

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CUB Executive Director Amy Bandyk Speaks On Energy Resilience and Equity at Virtual Forum

Michigan regulators can confront two of the biggest challenges for energy consumers—poor electric reliability and the inequitable treatment of low to moderate-income customers—through data-driven changes to the way utilities are regulated, Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Michigan Executive Director Amy Bandyk said March 26, speaking on a panel at the 16th Annual Michigan Forum on

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Postcard of Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Final Report of Upper Peninsula Task Force Covers Different Facets of Energy Supply in the UP

The Upper Peninsula Task Force has released its final report, a culmination of almost two years of conversations with energy providers, municipal leaders, regulators, academics, consultants and the general public. While the goal of the report is ā€œto provide a roadmap for actions the state could take to improve affordability, enhance reliability, and promote energy

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Scenic coastline in Michigan

The Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force’s Recommendations Are Out, And They Want Feedback From You

We are just a few weeks away from the Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force’s deadline to submit its final report to the governor about how to confront the complicated challenges facing the Upper Peninsula and its access to reliable, affordable and clean energy. On March 3, the task force held one of its last meetings,

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Electricity cables covered in ice

CUB Witness Lays Out Plan To Help Utility Customers Through Winter In Time of COVID-19

We are about a year into COVID-19 and the pandemic, and while the toll it is having on the economy is as bad as ever, the protections for ratepayers have not gotten stronger in response. Quite the contrary—they are more meager than at the outset of the pandemic, when Michigan utilities like DTE and Consumers

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