Energy Equity Project
LightNews LightNews
energyequityproj.bsky.social
Energy Equity Project
@energyequityproj.bsky.social
41 followers 43 following 52 posts
The mission of EEP is to ensure BIPOC, lower-income and frontline environmental justice communities have the power to determine their energy futures and secure an equitable share of benefits from the clean energy transition.
Posts Replies Media Videos
energyequityproj.bsky.social
No 10: DTE's Hardest Hit census tracts face #Extreme_Unaffordability

We found that DTE's 33 hardest hit census tracts spend 7.7% of their incomes on electricity (double the affordability threshold).
Image of two maps side by side showing the most impacted census tracts. All but one are in Detroit, with one in Pontiac, MI.
August 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
No 7: DTE has #Terrible_Customer_Service

The Better Business Bureau website is riddled with reviews like these. Failure to deal with live wires, wrongful shutoffs, etc. Know of any other industries where this type of negligence is met with a huge raise?

#Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
I literally purchased a power generator to avoid the harsh cold during power outages in the winter. My generator purchase cost me $1100. I am a single mother, with health conditions, and unaware of the electrical connections required to even hook my generator up. I believe it requires a specific generator cord that costs above $100 to service my home. My complaint isnt about the generator but about the very many frequent power outages that my residence is subjected to with the slightest wind or rain let alone major storms. Today, yet again a 5 minute rain storm and my residence is without power. DTE doesnt reimburse for outages u less they are greater than 24 hours. Though I am amongst the few 5 percent of resident in my area that is experiencing an outage and this happens all the time. I asked *** during the outages occurred last summer to investigate the cause for the frequent outages and they said they would. They placed a type of solar grid within 100 feet of my home and as you are being informed today their so called investigation did not resolve the matter. I have been subjected to at least 3-5 insurance claims for food spoilage due to the frequent power outages and yes my homeowners insurance has increased. I have been subjected to harsh cold and power outages that are illegal and wrong. Every month I pay my DTE bill on time, ahead of time, over and above the amount due as a long standing DTE customer and its not fair not at all which is why I am making this complaint k own to you today. There are people that I know and have brought to the attention of the police that fraudulently have illegally obtained power to their homes free of charge. I am a tax payer, I own my home, I dont owe DTE anything. Every month I pay nearly $350 for my monthly residential services and yet I am still subjected to being amongst the 5% of residence whose power goes out. I am writing to formally file a complaint against DTE Energy due to their ongoing negligence and lack of proper response concerning a live wire hazard in my backyard. Despite being a loyal, bill-paying customer, I have been met with continuous disrespect, disregard, and confusion from *** representatives.For some years now, there has been a live wire down in my yard. Which happens when it storms.I have contacted DTE on multiple occasions, yet no action has been taken to resolve this dangerous situation. Instead of properly addressing the hazard, DTE has simply placed caution tape around the live wire a temporary and wholly inadequate solution that does not eliminate the risk. To myself or my ******* make matters worse, I am being told constantly by *** it is my responsibility to cut down a tree that is near this live wire, while simultaneously being warned not to go near it for safety reasons. This contradiction is both confusing and very irresponsible on **** part. How am I expected to resolve something I am being told is unsafe to approach?On Wednesday, I received a phone call from a *** representative. After calling, claiming that notes in their system indicated the wire in question is not live. This is simply false. The wire in my backyard consists of two lines wrapped together . Clearly a live electrical wire. A single cable wire looks entirely different, and I find it incredibly frustrating to have to defend this fact to trained professionals.This is not the first time Ive had to elevate this matter to corporate, and yet here I am still with a live wire in my backyard, still being dismissed by customer service, and still waiting for correction.I am requesting immediate intervention and resolution through the Better Business Bureau, as this has become a serious safety concern. I would appreciate a thorough investigation into this matter and for *** to be held accountable for their repeated failure to address a hazardous situation properly. I had to pay for an HVAC technician to come out to my house and possibly fix my A/C unit. The technician then informs me that it wasnt the A/C unit but the meter it was connected to. Turns out DTE interrupted the service and NEVER reconnected the power. Not only that, they interrupted the service so they can replace/remove the old meter however they did not do either. There are still 2 meters left on my house. I then called DTE explained the emergency and they still told me I had to wait 3 days for an electrician to come out. I called back Sunday (2 days later) begging them to please escalate my case and get a tech out here same day as it reached 96 degrees and it was messing with my health and I was unable to sleep or do basic functions because of the heat. They assured me that they will send someone same day between the hours of 8am-4:30 pm. I wait all the way until 4 pm and no one showed up. I call again and they assured me that the tech should be here within the next 30 mins, reiterating that the tech has until 4:30 to show. I wait until 5:30 before calling again and checking on the status/ETA. They then informed me that the last 2 customer service **** I spoke with were wrong and those technicians dont work on Sundays so they would need to come the next business day (Monday). This was unacceptable as i explained to DTE that there is a heat advisory and for me to wait around in my house all day with no air conditioning just for no one to show up is messing with my health. They did not consider this to be an emergency which I am not understanding since it was them who messed up in the first place by the technician not properly doing their job and reconnecting the service to the meter!! They did not seem to care. I am now waiting another 8 hours in 95 degree weather where I feel very weak, sick and over heated, for a technician to arrive. I am forced to get in my shower and drench myself in cold water just to keep my body temperature down. Hello my name is ******* ******** and I submitted documentation about a medical hold with a drs note stating my condition and reason for the necessity and WHY it would be detrimental to my health if they shut off my electrical. Dte REFUSES to accept a legal doctors letter containing all the necessary requirements by Michigan state law they still refuse to accept it saying life support isnt the same thing as heat stroke when theyre both valid medical emergencies. I need them to accept my doctors note or reduce the amount that they say I owe monthly Dte CAN forgive some of the balance they choose not to and I cant keep paying $266 a month for electricity. Im a single mom Dte already has me coded as ********** and *** wants $1,000 copay to make a payment. I dont know what else to do at this point. I need help.
August 5, 2025 at 9:06 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
No. 5: DTE Treats Residential Customers As Their Cash Cow

This week DTE reported a 14% bump in Q2 earnings vs 2024, due largely to the last rate increase MPSC approved. Somehow that's *still* not enough. They've proposed an 11% residential rate increase, but for industrial customers? Just 5.6%.
Cartoon cow with green spots and dollar signs for eyes.
August 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
No. 4: DTE's "Value-Added" get-rich-quick schemes

#Value_Add_Grift #Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
DTE has a suite of programs where customers can voluntarily give them even more money. ⚠️60-80% of the money customers spend goes straight to DTE profit ⚠️ 🌲 TreeGuard Assurance - if DTE doesn't trim your trees like they're supposed to, you can pay a premium to have them clean up after an outage ⚡ Surge Protection Plans - DTE offers a range of plans to protect your electronics and appliances from surges, costing customers between $5.99 and $22.99 per month - or buy a power strip... 💵 GreenBacks Cash - pay DTE $240 per year so it can give you $125 back on the off chance you need to replace your microwave 🛠️ Home Protection Plus - spend upwards of $80 / month for potential appliance repairs that may or may not be covered and have a cap on cost 🔥 Natural Gas Balance - pay extra to offset your natural gas usage so DTE doesn't have to get off gas to meet its climate commitments 🌞 MIGreenPower - pay extra to subsidize DTE's solar and wind, despite the fact that these forms of energy generation are rapidly becoming the cheapest in the world 🤑 MIGreenPower Community Impact - subsidize DTE's new solar parks in Detroit, Highland Park, and River Rouge so that DTE only has to foot 30% of the capital cost
August 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
No.2: DTE hashtag#Profits_Thru_The_Roof
💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲
Hmmm, DTE is asking for a $574,000,000 rate increase.

Does our monopoly utility really need that? Investors seem happy as it is. In the last six quarters on record, DTE stock has risen 54%, from $89 to $137 per share.
Line graph showing DTE's stock price from October 2023 through July 2025. It vacillates, but there is a steady overall trend from about $90/share to about $135/share.
July 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
No.1: DTE Makes #Shutoffs_Hall_of_Shame

DTE came in at Number 3 on the Powerless in the US report from @EPI, Center for Biological Diversity, and BailoutWatch. See the report here: energyandpolicy.org/utility-disc...

#Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case, #11x11
Table of utilities with more than 70,000 shutoffs from January-October 2022. DTE Energy in Michigan is 3rd with 102,206 shutoffs in 2021 and 118,699 in 2022.
July 28, 2025 at 9:44 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
💲DTE forces 12 months of cash payments for 1 bounced check. DTE must make those cash payments really easy to deliver, right? Of course not. Payments can be made at special kiosks only located in Wayne County. Or they can make payments at authorized agent locations, but they charge fees.
Blue credit card reader on light blue background with a green credit card inserted and FEES written on the screen
July 24, 2025 at 9:07 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
We had a great time connecting during our factsheet webinar last week! Thanks to feedback we received, future versions should include an appendix with additional helpful graphs. We also hope to apply our factsheet format to utility-specific data and other geographies!
July 15, 2025 at 8:16 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
💡 Energy equity starts with data.

Join us for a webinar on the new EEP State Factsheets—covering energy affordability, shutoffs, and electric rates in your state.

Registration link in the comments.

#EnergyEquity #UtilityJustice #EnergyAffordability #DataForGood #EEPFactsheets
July 7, 2025 at 4:12 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
Mamdani said it best: “The system wasn’t broken—it was working exactly as designed, just not for working people.” In 2023, Con Ed shut off ~60k households. 1 in 5 NYC households have unaffordable energy bills! This isn’t individual failure—it’s systemic injustice. Energy is a right, not a privilege.
July 1, 2025 at 2:57 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
Investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are driving up your electric bills faster than inflation!

Rates skyrocketed 47.9% ABOVE INFLATION for residential customers served by an IOU (2020-2023).

📊Learn more about rates in your state: lnkd.in/eDYTGkyy

📅 Register for our upcoming webinar: lnkd.in/esyck9Wv
Bar graph showing industrial and residential electric rate change relative to inflation from 2020-2023 for investor owned utilities, municipal utilities, and cooperatives. IOU rates outpaces inflation for both industrial and residential customers, though much more for residential customers. For munis and coops, rates increased less than inflation.
June 23, 2025 at 7:16 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
Just 21 states track shutoffs. At the height of COVID, 42 states reported utility shutoffs and ALL had some form of moratorium on shutoffs. During this crisis, officials recognized electricity as essential. Since 2024 only 21 states report shutoff data - half the country’s shutoffs are invisible.
Graph showing number of states reporting shutoffs from 2010 to 2024. 2020-2022 is highlighted, showing the COVID Pandemic. The graph shows a steady increase in states reporting shutoffs until their peak from 2020-2022 followed by a dramatic drop in reporting immediately after, nearly to 2010 levels.
June 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
Did you know that 1 in 5 households in the US faces an unaffordable energy bill?

Behind these numbers are real families facing impossible choices between heating, food, medicine, and rent.

📊 We’re breaking down the latest data in our new state factsheets: drive.google.com/drive/folder...
Graph showing the top 5 and bottom 5 US states and territories with the highest and lowest percentage of households with unaffordable energy bills - in descending order, Puerto Rico (51%), Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, Washington, and Utah (10%).
June 12, 2025 at 3:19 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
If you're looking for inspiration on who you might like to send these to, check out the report Powerless in the United States from the @biologicaldiversity.org, the Energy and Policy Institute, and BailoutWatch. Their Hall of Shame Utilities are a great place to start.
A table showing utilities and their total cumulative disconnects (2020 through October 2022), Cost to Prevent Disconnects, Dividends, and dividends divided by cost to prevent disconnects.
February 6, 2025 at 9:29 PM
energyequityproj.bsky.social
Eager to share your true feelings with a utility rep or commissioner this Valentine's Day? These cards may help you get your point across. For more, check out the full article on our website: energyequityproject.org/2025/02/05/e...
A Valentine's card that one could cut out and fold in half with a message on the right, a place for one's name on the left, and space on the back for a personal message. Shows a plug being unplugged with the poem "Roses are red, violets are blue, shutoffs are cruel, and so are you." A Valentine's card that one could cut out and fold in half with a message on the right, a place for one's name on the left, and space on the back for a personal message. Shows a heart made of ice and the text "You and your company give me the chills. 6% is the most folks should spend on their bills." A Valentine's card that one could cut out and fold in half with a message on the right, a place for one's name on the left, and space on the back for a personal message. Shows a heart with wind turbines and solar panels inside it and the text "I'm just a ratepayer, standing in front of my utility, asking you to prioritize clean energy." A Valentine's card that one could cut out and fold in half with a message on the right, a place for one's name on the left, and space on the back for a personal message. Shows a pink notebook with hearts and the text "Love means never having to say you're sorry. But we don't love each other and you - my IOU - owe me an apology."
February 6, 2025 at 9:23 PM