We Showed Up! We Showed Out!
If you were there, you already know the energy that was flowing in that 150 person capacity room at Wayne County Community College in Detroit. On Monday, August 22nd, after receiving pressure from the public and organizations like Soulardarity, We The People MI, and the MI Environmental Justice Coalition, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) held a public hearing for the DTE Rate Hike Proposal (+$388M) that is currently under their consideration.
If you missed being there and want to see how it went down, visit the link below.
Hailing from Detroit, Highland Park, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, and other surrounding areas, over 200 people came in attendance and gave in-person public comment, all of which were recorded by a court stenographer and witnessed by a judge, along with the board's three Commissioners. Every comment that was delivered that evening will be officially put on the record in the case.
It was a strategic win for the community, getting us hopefully closer to shutting down DTE's plans to take more of residential rate payers' money (+$283M) to fill the pockets of their shareholders (+$288M). But we still have a lot of work to do until November 21st, when the MPSC makes their ruling.
Submit your public comment
First, we need to continue making our voices heard by the MPSC. They are still accepting public comment electronically. Soulardarity is urging all of our supporters that are DTE rate payers to do so by using the link below. It's quick, easy, and will make an impact.
Tell the MPSC: Reject DTE's proposed rate increase!
Sign up to volunteer
Second, if you want to jump into the trenches with us, and push back against DTE's rate hike, sign up to volunteer on our website. Be sure to write a comment that you would like to help with the anti rate hike campaign and one of us will reach out to connect you to our coalition's efforts in a meaningful way that works for you.
Read more about DTE's practices that damage our communities
We The People MI, with support from Soulardarity, We Want Green Too, and other environmental justice organizations, put together and released last week a scathing report that exposes the many ways that DTE harms our people. To read it, click the link below.
REPORT: The Public’s Case Against DTE Energy
Also, our friends at ProPublica submitted another hard hitting investigative article on DTE. This time, revealing their horrible practice of selling the debts of rate payers to third party debt collectors. To read it, click the link below.
She Didn’t Know She Still Owed Money to Her Utility. Then 25% of Her Paycheck Was Gone.
Check out below some press coverage of the public hearing
DTE Energy's proposed rate hike draws protest, comment at public service commission meeting - NPR
Detroiters call on regulators to reject DTE’s rate hike, cite ‘utility redlining’ - Planet Detroit
Become a monthly sustaining donor
Both in the court with our legal intervention, and in the public, we are making important and impactful strides to expose and stop DTE from continuing to take advantage of us. But we have a lot of work to do.
Another great way to support our work is by becoming a monthly sustaining donor or making a one time financial contribution. This will help us get closer to achieving financial independence, helping ensure that our staff and members can continue doing this important work on a daily basis.
Soulardarity hopes that you will join us. Together, many hands make light and powerful work.
In Soulardarity,
Rafael Mojica, Program Director
http://www.soulardarity.com/
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