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Publications & Testimony
5 Lakes Energy authors reports that provide the public, policymakers, and other decision makers with comprehensive information and recommendations on climate and energy issues. Often produced in collaboration with clients and other partners, these publications frequently feature 5 Lakes Energy modeling and data analysis to evaluate proposed policy solutions for their costs, benefits, and projected economic, public health, and environmental impacts.
Publications and Reports
Dearborn Works: An Integrated Steel Mill Transition Study
OCTOBER 2024
Is clean steel produced using green hydrogen right for Michigan, and the fenceline residents of the state’s sole remaining integrated steel mill? This report provides a thorough presentation of a potential transition plan to clean steel production at Cleveland-Cliffs-owned Dearborn Works, to educate key decision-makers on the steps needed to secure Michigan’s foothold in the emerging clean steel economy – while growing jobs and slashing health-harming pollution.
The Michigan Building Efficiency and Electrification Cost-Benefit Analysis Toolkit
AUGUST 2024
5 Lakes Energy developed a free online Toolkit to help Michigan communities, property owners and others evaluate prospective investments in the energy performance of buildings. Via a web-based interface, users enter basic information about one or more buildings and select from an array of potential clean-energy measures to deploy at the properties (from improving insulation to replacing fossil-fuel powered HVAC equipment, installing solar panels, and more). Based on user inputs, the Toolkit deploys a wide array of industry-standard datasets and calculations to estimate the costs and benefits of the selected clean-energy measures, including changes to utility bills, Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, public health outcomes and more.
Michigan Clean Energy Framework
AUGUST 2023
5 Lakes Energy joined the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council in authoring The Michigan Clean Energy Framework. With support from the Rocky Mountain Institute, this comprehensive report modeled future scenarios in which Michigan adopted a suite of state policies reflecting the priorities of the State’s MI Healthy Climate Plan (2021). Under those scenarios, it predicted that Michigan would not only achieve its carbon emissions reduction targets, but also deliver myriad public health and economic co-benefits for its residents and attract billions of dollars in additional federal funding to the state.
Citizens Utility Board of Michigan (CUB) Utility Performance Report 2022
NOVEMBER 2022
Since 2019, 5 Lakes Energy has prepared the annual Utility Performance Report for the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan (CUB). It scores the performance of Michigan’s electric utilities on reliability, affordability, and environmental responsibility. In addition to data on individual electric utilities within the state, the Report compares the aggregate performance of Michigan utilities to the other 49 states and the District of Columbia.
Energy Storage Roadmap for Michigan
MARCH 2022
5 Lakes Energy joined the Institute for Energy Innovation, Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, and Michigan State University Professor Annick Anctil in preparing this 2022 “roadmap” for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. It recommended short- and long-term executive, legislative, and regulatory actions to accelerate the development of a strong in-state energy storage industry that will provide Michigan consumers with reliable, affordable, and clean electricity.
Powering Forward: Accelerating the Binational Great Lakes Region’s Clean Energy Transition
DECEMBER 2020
5 Lakes Energy Managing Partner Douglas Jester and Co-Founder Skip Pruss prepared this 2021 report for the Council of the Great Lakes Region. With a focus on the Region’s shared economic assets, energy and transportation infrastructure, and natural resources—including the world’s largest freshwater system—the Report analyzed the economic and other benefits the Region’s eight US states and two Canadian provinces could achieve by collaborating across borders to lead the global clean-energy transition.
Select Expert Witness Testimony
5 Lakes Energy has represented our clients in nearly 100 cases before the Michigan Public Service Commission and other regulatory bodies across the country that oversee utilities, the rates they charge for heat and power, and their investments in energy sources and systems. We seize every chance to testify as an opportunity to protect consumers, advance equity, and/or increase investments in energy efficiency, renewable power, and other clean-energy strategies.
Consumers Energy Company – 2023 Rate Case (U-21389)
On behalf of Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, 5 Lakes Energy Consultant Matthew Bandyk testimony scrutinized the company’s proposed return on equity. Bandyk argued that, based on commonly-accepted financial methods for estimating the return for a utility, Consumers Energy deserves a much lower return on equity than the one it is requesting. A more realistic return on equity would yield savings of about $55 million a year over the amount customers would be charged if the proposed 10.25% return was approved. That represents a substantial saving relative to the $216 million increase in revenue (paid by customers) that Consumers Energy was seeking in this case.
DTE Electric Company – 2023 Rate Case (U-21297)
In his role as Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal Association for Utility Issues, 5 Lakes Energy Senior Consultant Rick Bunch testified against DTE’s proposed returns on its streetlighting services. He noted that DTE's streetlight rates have increased by about 35% since 2016, despite the number of streetlights it serves increasing by less than 4% in that period. Bunch argued that DTE’s capital expenditures on streetlighting services are unreasonable; criticized the company for operations and maintenance failures that lead to poor outage performance; and challenged its practice of over-illuminating streets, which wastes energy and causes light pollution and negative public-health, environmental, and climate impacts.
DTE Electric Company – 2023 Rate Case (U-21297)
On behalf of the Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, 5 Lakes Energy Senior Consultant Rob Ozar urged the Michigan Public Service Commission to reject DTE Electric Company’s proposed rate recovery and return on its vegetation management and pole/pole-top-hardware inspection programs, arguing that those programs do not reflect industry standards and best available practices for outage prevention and fiscally prudent investment. For example, he maintained that an approach focusing more attention on circuits that are high-risk for outages would serve customers better than the utility’s uniform, systemwide 10-year cycle for tree inspections.
Get in touch
5 Lakes Energy is looking for partners and clients who want to make a difference on climate and energy issues in their states or communities. Please drop us a line and let’s get to work.