Since the 1970s, our energy bills have been going up. Year after year, utility companies like DTE have been asking for rate hikes. But it’s not just them — utilities nationwide have been raising rates. 

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The increasing energy cost comes at an interesting time in our country’s history. Many companies, states and organizations are trying to switch to clean energy sources. The state of Michigan is tasked with operating only on clean energy sources by 2040. That matters because utility companies supply most of the energy we use from natural gas. 

Today on The Metro, we discussed what it would look like for our utilities to run entirely on renewable energy and how to bring the cost down for consumers. 

Richard Hirsh, a history professor at Virginia Tech who’s written multiple books on American utilities, joined the discussion. He says the cost of electricity wasn’t always so high, and technological advances between the late 1800s and 1970 even decreased the cost. 

“As these generators and turbines got bigger, the unit cost, the cost per kilowatt hour of electricity, declined,” Hirsh said.“And regulatory commissions allowed utility companies to charge less or lower and lower rates for electricity.”

Solar projects are currently underway in several Detroit neighborhoods. The arrays owned by DTE will be used to power city buildings. Legislative and Political Director of the Michigan Sierra Club Christy McGillivray said one of the things we’re missing is community-owned solar. Attempts at making legislative changes were made, but it faced pushback from energy companies. 

“Utilities, specifically DTE and Consumers because they’re the biggest investor owned utilities, they roadblocked it the entire way,” McGillivray said. “And we were told multiple times that we were not going to see an expansion of distributed generation and community solar because of the amount of power and money that DTE has in Lansing.”

Managing Director of the Rocky Mountain Institute Mark Dyson added that public utility commissions play a crucial role in the transition to renewable energy and keeping costs low. 

“I think a lot of important action can take place at public utility commissions or public service commissions across the country to both empower consumers, like I was just saying, help let consumers save money by using their home energy devices and also protect consumers and shield them from volatile fossil fuel prices that — especially on cold days like today — can soar,” Dyson said. 

DTE did not respond to requests from The Metro’s producers to join the conversation. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation, plus other stories from “The Metro.”

More headlines from The Metro on Jan. 21, 2024:                   

• The city of Detroit has been working to build a friendly landscape for electric vehicles. This month, the city and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments received $15 million in federal funding to build a network of EV charging stations. Deputy Chief of the Office of Mobility and Innovation Tony Geara joined the show to explain Detroit’s efforts.
• “One of Them Days” is currently one of the highest rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes and a top selling movie at the box office. It’s also directed by Detroiter Lawrence Lamont. He sat down with Host Tia Graham to discuss Michigan’s film incentives, being prepared for the moment and how Detroit influenced his love for writing.
• The Lions were dominant this year. Their offense was nearly unstoppable and their defense battled through broken bones and season ending injuries to do just enough. On Saturday, their dominant season came to a sad grinding halt. The Lions lost to the Washington commanders 45-31 at Ford Field. Detroit Free Press Sports Columnist Shawn Windsor returns to walk us through the final chapter of the Lions’ season and to look ahead to next year.

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