There is a new player in the debate over whether or not Ann Arbor should vote to stick with DTE Energy or go its own way, using the municipalization process to establish a city owned and operated electric power utility of its own. The Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition has a website, has financial backing, and they are very up front about being against municipalization. But who are they?
“Support continues to grow daily, and we will keep that count updated. Our coalition is staffed by experienced public affairs and campaign professionals working on behalf of our members,” Rudy Harper, a spokesman for the AAREC, said.
Harper received 28 questions from Current Magazine, but did not directly respond to the vast majority of them, including questions regarding their relationship with the organizations mentioned further on in this article. Their social media presence appears to consist only of an Instagram account, which, as of publication, has only posted once.
Records from the Michigan Bureau of Elections show that the group was established last September on behalf of Justin Phillips and Stephanie Ming of Aristotle. Aristotle is a Washington DC-based lobbying operation headquartered just on the other side of the Library of Congress from Capitol Hill.
Ann Arbor for Public Power—the grassroots organization that has been pushing to cut ties with DTE Energy on local democracy, environmental, economic equity, and reliability grounds—has been using Instagram to accuse the AAREC of being a front group for the for-profit utility company. DTE Energy and the AAREC both denied this.
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“The Ann Arbor for Public Power strategy is to keep ramping up until the City acquires the assets, probably around 2030,” Brian Geiringer, the executive director of Ann Arbor for Public Power, said. “And what I’m guessing is that that DTE wants to nip it in the bud… They may be attempting to confuse people…”
Having failed to get a feasibility study passed in early 2025, A2P2 is currently attempting to get enough signatures to turn their cause into a ballot proposal in the 2026 Midterm elections. When Current Magazine brought these accusations to the utility, DTE Energy did not respond to any of Current’s emailed questions sent on April 24.
Instead, DTE Energy’s Director of Corporate Communications, deferred to the AAREC itself, and then provided a formal statement, which runs in part: “DTE Energy is committed to delivering a reliable, affordable and clean energy future for Ann Arbor. The company is executing a five-year, $270 million plan to modernize the electric system that serves the city, and it’s working. Last year, DTE delivered the best electric reliability Ann Arbor has experienced in nearly 30 years. At the same time, DTE is focused on customer affordability, keeping energy bills below the national and regional averages, even as we continue to invest in delivering improved reliability and cleaner energy for our customers across the state. We’re in agreement with the Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition that the path of a city takeover of the electric system will only serve to put a financial strain…”
DTE Energy also ignored another list of 17 follow-up questions asked by Current Magazine after state records disclosed on April 28, showing that they gave the AAREC a $1.8 million contribution on January 5. They also appear to have spent thousands in employee salaries, accommodation at a Huron Street hotel and food at upscale downtown restaurants in the same disclosure.
The AAREC also appears to have been involved in a $5,710.50 transaction with a Miller Johnson of Grand Rapids on March 27, a $54,898.62 transaction with DC-based PR firm Salt Public Affairs on April 8, an $150,000 transaction involving Second Street Associates, and a $75,000 transaction involving the Chevy Chase, Maryland-based TKO Buying LLC.
“DTE Energy supports the Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition because we believe in its mission. This proposal to take over Ann Arbor’s electric grid will cost the City of Ann Arbor nearly $1 billion on day one, leading to skyrocketing costs for Ann Arbor businesses and residents,” Wilmot said instead of answering questions on April 28. She reiterated her position that “the coalition is not operated by DTE Energy” adding “DTE is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and complies with all applicable laws regarding corporate donations and political contributions. The company’s political contributions are not funded through customer rates or revenue.”
The AAREC’s points are indeed very similar to the results of a study by Charles River Associates, the Massachusetts-based financial analytics firm, which found that the process of municipalization would be long and too costly. That study was paid for by DTE Energy.
It is important to point out that it is illegal for Ann Arbor to simply seize the power lines, transformers, and power generation assets that DTE Energy owns. If Ann Arbor voters do choose to go their own way this November, that would mean a lengthy period of litigation between DTE Energy and Ann Arbor to negotiate how much the city would have to pay them to purchase their property. The city would then have to pay to run it itself and then find new ways to build its own power generation at a cost the AAREC said would be too costly for Ann Arbor taxpayers.
They estimate that it could cost Ann Arbor tax payers around $1 billion. A2P2 insists that they are deliberately inflating how much it would actually cost taxpayers.
“IBEW Local 17 represents the line workers who work year-round to maintain and improve the electric grid across Washtenaw County. We also repair it when storms strike. Local 17 was an original member of the Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition because we are against the proposal to take over the electric grid in Ann Arbor and create a city-run utility. The cost to Ann Arbor would be enormous,” James Shaw, the business manager and financial secretary for a union chapter supporting the AAREC, IBEW Local 17, said in a statement. In addition to the fears of debt, he critiqued that “the proposal creates a board of politicians to run the utility who may not have any experience with electric utilities at all. Starting a new utility with a huge debt and inexperienced people in charge wouldn’t be good for our members or for customers in Ann Arbor. Local 17 stands strong that our members have done an outstanding job not only maintaining but rebuilding the electoral infrastructure in the city of Ann Arbor and surrounding areas.”
IBEW Local 17 is headquartered in Southfield. The city of Southfield is in Oakland County, but Shaw claims that they do have Washtenaw County residents. None of the other unions have responded.
Shaw added, “This is not something that requires a vote from our membership, but it was heavily discussed amongst our E-board and members.”
The Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition was originally filed using the address of DTE Energy headquarters
Publicly available records show that the AAREC originally claimed that their address is One Energy Plaza in Detroit. Wilmot didn’t answer the question of why the AAREC registered themselves as being in the same building that houses the DTE Energy headquarters. On April 7, the official mailing address for the AAREC was changed to a strip mall in Pittsfield Township.
DTE Energy did not answer a question as to why the original paperwork for the AAREC appears to have used the same email address for the organization as Daniel Mahoney, DTE Energy’s Director of Policy and Regional Affairs. Mahoney didn’t respond to an interview request.
“DTE supported certain administrative setup activities prior to launch, including filings and registration, and its financial contributions are fully disclosed in campaign reports,” Harper said on that point.
This has been tried before
Plenty of cities and states have tried to pass municipalization efforts before. The Tampa Bay Times reported a very similar story regarding efforts in the area to municipalize the power grid, and saw a lot of opaque money being brought in to overwhelm the usually meager finances of the grassroots advocates trying to achieve municipalization. Voters rejected a statewide municipalization effort in Maine in 2023 under a similar deluge of money.
In both states, local journalists brought up the involvement of Willy Ritch, a consultant whom A2P2 said is involved in Ann Arbor’s municipalization debate. Ritch did not respond to interview requests. Both Harper and Wilmot did not answer questions asking if either of their organizations have a formal, informal, or consultant based relationship with Ritch.
The AAREC has also received funding from at least three donations each amounting to exactly $25,000 according to the Michigan Bureau of Elections last year. The first one came from a senior employee of Detroit-based Corby Energy Services ten days before Thanksgiving, a second one came the day after Christmas from the Pennsylvania-based Asplundh Construction LLC.
A third one came from the Edison Electric Institute— a group which describes itself as “the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies.” They’re located about halfway between the White House and the United States Capitol. DTE Energy also appears to have paid what was classified as “employee salary – FMV” of $600 on New Year’s eve.
The Edison Electric Institute didn’t respond to interview requests. The bank that the AAREC uses is based in the suburbs of Northern Virginia. Ming and Phillips did not respond to an interview request.
Corby Energy Services didn’t respond to an interview request. But they have previously shared on their website: “Corby Energy Services has been a contractor of choice for DTE Energy and various municipalities throughout Michigan.” Asplundh has also previously worked for DTE Energy, but didn’t respond to an interview request.
Harper said, “At the end of the day, our focus remains on the substance of this proposal: cost, reliability, governance, and whether this is the right path for Ann Arbor’s clean energy future.”
Editors Note: Ritch did not respond to an interview request made ten days before publication. It was only after the story was published that he clarified that he is a “consultant” and not a “lobbyist.” Ritch is yet to respond to follow up questions.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
