Jocelyn Benson’s Energy Affordability Plan Will Take on Skyrocketing Costs and Reform a Broken System
Jocelyn Benson’s Energy Affordability Plan Will Take on Skyrocketing Costs and Reform a Broken System
On Friday, Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson rolled out her energy affordability agenda with stops in Saginaw and Detroit.
Rooted in conversations with Michiganders across the state who are seeing skyrocketing heat and energy bills, Benson’s plan takes aim at a broken system that for too long has allowed those costs to increase with no accountability, transparency, or real reform. As governor, Jocelyn will lower energy costs by ending the unfair rate hikes, investing in a clean energy future for Michigan, reforming the rate-setting process, and increasing accountability for utility companies.
This is the third plank of Benson’s affordability agenda that reinforces her commitment to lowering costs for Michiganders.
In case you missed it…
In print:
Bridge Michigan: Jocelyn Benson: Ban Michigan utility spending to influence politicians
[Lauren Gibbons, 4/10/26]
Michigan Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jocelyn Benson said Friday she wants to ban regulated utilities from spending to “influence or elect politicians.”
The proposal from Benson, who currently oversees Michigan’s campaign finance system as secretary of state, could limit political spending by DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. She announced it as part of a broader plan that aims to address high gas and electricity rates for Michigan residents.
“We’re going to end the conflict of interest so that companies seeking to raise rates cannot influence making those rules and decisions that are meant to regulate them,” Benson said during a news conference in Saginaw, where she was joined by Mayor Brenda Moore and other Democratic activists.
[...]
“To me, it’s about building partnerships with folks who are already engaged in this, but having the state play a role in developing that comprehensive audit so it’s also transparent, and that citizens have access to knowledge of what is actually being done,” she said.
MIRS News: Benson Rolls Out Energy Affordability Vision
During the Detroit roundtable, Benson's campaign lifted remarks by local activist Sylvia ORDUNO [...] She claimed that in the late 90s, during frigid winter temperatures, a mother was begging DTE Energy not to disconnect their home's services. While attempting to pay what she could in person, her house caught on fire, resulting in the death of three toddlers.
“And I remember I went to the funeral. It was the most heartbreaking thing, seeing these little tiny caskets,” Orduno said.
She said it was a mother trying to figure out how to keep her children warm, as the house had bad wiring and the situation overall was “very desperate.”
"Michiganders pay some of the highest heat and electricity bills in the nation while enduring an antiquated, unreliable grid rife with failures and power outages – all while monopoly utility companies make record profits," Benson said. "It's unfair, corrupt, and it has to end."
On the airwaves:
WNEM - Saginaw, MI: “A candidate for governor sharing her plans to put an end to constant rate hikes by utility companies. Today, candidate Jocelyn Benson took her campaign to Saginaw to discuss energy affordability. It comes after Consumers Energy received the green light for one of their highest rate hikes in years, said to raise energy bills by 13 percent. If elected, Benson said she would end unfair rate hikes, invest in a clean energy future, and more: “Why are publicly regulated utility companies like DTE asking for another rate increase after just receiving one? And we're not seeing any change to the reliability of our grid. We're paying these skyrocketing bills and we don't know where all this money is going…”
Michigan Public Radio: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says if she wins the governor's race this fall, she'll look to compel utilities to spend more to upgrade Michigan's electric grid. … In Saginaw today, Benson laid out her energy plan, which includes placing limits on political contributions utilities can make: “We're paying these skyrocketing bills and we don't know where all this money is going. Is it going to eliminate these outages and modernize our grid, or is it just going to increase the profits of corporations and CEOs?”
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