About the SEU
How does the Sustainable Energy Utility work?
As a municipal utility, the Ann Arbor SEU can deliver an array of services to help the community adopt clean energy, improve energy resilience and reliability, save money, and improve health and comfort in our homes and businesses. Services include:
- Improved energy reliability and resilience via the installation of solar and energy storage systems on homes and businesses.
- Sustainable heating and cooling through the installation of networked geothermal systems.
- Microgrids or the sharing of solar energy between neighboring households and businesses.
- Energy justice initiatives to ensure that everyone in the community has the benefit of the clean energy economy.
Where does renewable energy come from?
Renewable energy sources are all around us. The Sustainable Energy Utility uses modern, renewable, local energy from rooftop solar, batteries and geothermal heating and cooling from the ground.
Who is eligible to join the Sustainable Energy Utility?
The Sustainable Energy Utility is authorized to operate within the Ann Arbor city limits. All residents, businesses and institutions (including nonprofits, schools, houses of worship and more) within city limits are eligible for service. This includes homeowners, property owners, landlords and renters.
Unfortunately, at this time, we are sorry we cannot offer service outside of city limits. Check whether your property is inside city limits.
Why join the Sustainable Energy Utility?
An SEU is an innovative municipal utility that focuses almost exclusively on energy generation at the point of energy use. Because of this, the Ann Arbor SEU will be:
- Resilient – Through a diverse mix of energy generation and the use of energy storage, subscribers to the SEU will still have power even when disasters disrupt the traditional energy grid.
- Reliable – Focusing on generating energy at the source of use minimizes the need for distribution systems (e.g., poles and wires), which are currently the most vulnerable part of the existing energy system. This means that SEU-generated energy will be more reliable (and resilient) than energy from a traditional utility.
- Clean – The SEU will only generate power from renewable energy sources such as solar and geothermal systems. This means that every electron provided by the SEU will be from a clean energy source – one generated in our own community.
- Local – The SEU is all about generating energy locally – in our community, on our roofs, in shared spaces and under our feet. You can't get more homegrown than that!
- Supplemental – The SEU does not replace the DTE grid. Instead, it supplements it, ensuring that residents have more options in how they get their energy.
- Optional – Residents have a choice to participate (or not) in the SEU. No one will be required to take service from the SEU but everyone will have the choice to participate in at least some of the SEU's offerings. By providing choices, we are diversifying our energy options and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of clean, healthy energy systems.
- Affordable – The SEU works to make clean energy accessible and affordable. The SEU will own and install many clean energy services at no upfront cost so you don’t need a big bank account or a credit check to participate. You’ll simply pay a monthly rate for the services you select. The SEU is developing programs to make rates affordable for those who need it most.
- Community owned – The SEU is a municipal utility and is community owned. That means it’s a not for-profit, and the rates you pay for energy services are reinvested back in clean energy, operations and our community.