DTE Energy advocates for fair and responsible public policies to support reliable, affordable and clean electricity. We actively participate in the public policy making process led by our state’s executive and legislative branches to develop Michigan’s next energy policy. DTE has an important role to play in helping our state successfully craft sound policies that support its energy landscape.
Energy policy affects more than just DTE as a company. We feel it is DTE's responsibility to use our position as a force for growth in Michigan to give a voice to the residents and small businesses that benefit from balanced and equitable energy policy.
Michigan, and the entire United States, has entered a period of profound transformation of the power generation sector. Many factors will affect Michigan's energy portfolio moving forward:
> The aging of our coal fleet
> The emergence of cost-competitive natural gas-fired and wind-powered energy generation
> State-level clean energy policies
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations
Retiring older and less efficient coal plants has already begun. Determining the type of new generation that will replace that coal-fired capacity must take many factors into account, including the projected costs of different technologies and fuel sources, their operating characteristics and their environmental impact. Therefore, Michigan needs a flexible process to enable utilities to integrate the most cost-effective technologies at the right time to ensure affordable rates for customers. Today, and for the foreseeable future, natural gas and wind are the most economical sources of new generation for Michigan.
Under Michigan’s current regulatory structure, 10 percent of Michigan’s electric load is served by retail energy marketers rather than regulated utilities. Currently, no one is planning for the customers of retail energy marketers, which puts reliability and affordability at risk for all customers. To support a thriving economy, we need an equitable energy policy by which all customers pay fair cost-of-service rates, so Michigan’s electric utility customers are not subsidizing reliability for retail energy marketers’ customers when new plants are built.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the independent organization responsible for reliable electric service throughout the Great Lakes region, predicts that Michigan's lower peninsula will have a power shortfall beginning in 2016. With a capacity shortfall on the horizon, Michigan needs to act soon to secure its energy future.
Involvement in Energy Policy Organizations
We participate in a number of business and customer advocacy organizations in Michigan:
> Alliance for Michigan Power
> Business Leaders for Michigan
> Coalition to Keep Michigan Warm
> Detroit Regional Chamber
> Michigan Chamber of Commerce
> Michigan Manufacturers Association
We also are members of local and national industry associations where the company holds positions on their boards and participates on projects or committees. We actively engage in discussions with trade associations to help align our positions, and participate in their advocacy to policymakers to the extent possible. For example, DTE Energy led the effort with the Edison Electric Institute in its review of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the federal regulatory program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our industry group worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to craft final rules, issued in 2015, that mitigated potentially costly emission reduction requirements in the early phases of the CPP compliance period. The requirements could have created unreasonable costs for our customers and negatively impacted electric system reliability.
In addition to Edison Electric Institute, other trade organizations that we participate in at the federal level include:
> American Gas Association
> American Iron and Steel Institute
> Biomass Power Association
> Interstate Natural Gas Association of America
> National Association of Manufacturers
> Nuclear Energy Institute
> Public Affairs Council
> U.S. Chamber of Commerce
We participate in local and regional trade associations in states where we have operations, including the California Biomass Energy Alliance and the Marcellus Shale Coalition. DTE Energy is also a member of the Human Resources Policy Association and the Center on Executive Compensation.
Political Contributions
We believe that participation in the political and public policy arenas, when conducted in a legal manner, is an important and appropriate role for companies in open societies. In the United States, there are important federal and state laws that govern this participation.
The DTE Energy Political Action Committee (PAC) was formed in 1977 as a voluntary, non-partisan committee to promote and support responsible government through contributions to candidates for election to federal, state and local offices. It is designed to provide DTE Energy employees with an effective, convenient way to make financial contributions to candidates and to participate in the democratic process. The PAC is guided by a steering committee made up of employees from around the company.
Information about DTE Energy PAC contributions can be obtained via the Federal Election Commission website and the Michigan Secretary of State’s Bureau of Elections website.