Now that Michigan Democrats “hold all the gavels” in Lansing, they have wasted no time in pursuing one of their top targets in 2023: Repeal the state’s right-to-work law, which took effect a decade ago.

Public sector workers in Michigan, such as public school teachers will retain the right to opt out of unions regardless of what happens in Lansing. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus vs. AFSCME (2018) establishes that point. Any right-to-work repeal would affect only private sector employees, such as factory workers at Ford or GM.

That’s just what House Bill 4005 of 2023 would achieve.

Page two of the seven-page bill shows what’s at stake if it were to pass. No longer would workers represented by private sector unions have the choice whether to opt out. The government would take that right away.

As the legislation reads:

• Read House Bill 4005 of 2023 for yourself

House Bill 4005 was submitted by State Rep. Regina Weiss, D-Oak Park, and referred to the House Committee on Labor. Among its sponsors is State Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, who is Speaker of the House.

CapCon will follow the bill as it proceeds through the Legislature.

DTE Energy, electricity supplier to 40% of Michigan, will start charging a peak-hour rate in March.

“The residential rate is being changed to a variable Time of Day rate as a way to smooth out peaks in demand,” DTE says on its website.

The peak hours will run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. during weekdays, for a total of 20 hours per week.

The other 148 hours of the week, including the entire weekend, will be charged at a lower rate, 15.45 cents per kilowatt hour, DTE explains in a primer on its website.

Within peak hours, there will be two different rates depending on the time of year. From October through May, the rate will be 16.75¢ per kWh. In the warmer months of June through September, the rate will be 20.98 cents per kWh.

“When you adjust your habits and do things like laundry, dishes or run your air conditioner in off-peak hours, you benefit from a lower rate,” DTE says.

Among the frequently asked questions on the DTE website: Why does a peak-hour system help?

“Electric power is playing a bigger and bigger role in our lives,” DTE responds. “From the cars we drive to the electric appliances and devices we power around the clock, customers expect more and are using more energy. Time of Day keeps the grid balanced while helping you save through more control and more choice.”

Jason Hayes, the Mackinac Center’s director of environmental policy, sees it differently.

“They are teaching people to stop using electricity,” Hayes told CapCon. “They’re deliberately trying to price it at a point that encourages you to not use electricity.” 

This change comes, Hayes notes, as DTE is transitioning away from reliable energy sources such as coal, and toward less-reliable wind and solar.

“They close their reliable generation, and then they have to discourage people from using electricity, because they know the system that they're building can’t handle the same levels of demand that it used to,” Hayes said. 

Peak-hour pricing applies to DTE customers paying the D1 standard residential electric base rate.

Right now, the rates are the same regardless the time of day. Some customers have opted in to time-of-day programs.