Presentation short abstract

This paper grapples with the contradictory logics and racialized politics governing water and energy affordability and assistance in Michigan which have produced a double-standard wherein utility bill surcharges are legitimized for energy assistance but not for water assistance.

Presentation long abstract

Like many states across the US, Michigan is working to address growing rates of water and energy insecurity. Residents in Detroit have experienced particularly high water and energy burdens, with utility rates far exceeding accepted affordability thresholds and with significantly higher rates of utility shutoffs. Water and energy assistance programs have existed in the state since the early 2000s, yet both programs have struggled to meet the financial needs. In response, the state approved legislation in 2024 that expanded a monthly surcharge on all energy utility bills, doubling the assistance funds available to low-income households. Similar proposals for a statewide water surcharge have repeatedly failed in the legislature, however, while Detroit-based community organizers have faced more than a decade of resistance from local administrators over a surcharge-funded water affordability plan for the city. This paper grapples with the contradictory logics and racialized politics that have governed water and energy affordability and assistance in Michigan over the last two decades. Not discounting several important distinctions between the two utility systems, including over ownership, regulation, and the material qualities of each resource, this paper examines the double-standard that has emerged across Michigan’s parallel affordability crises wherein the same affordability provision has been legitimized for energy utilities but not for water.