Gerard Anderson on climate policy
From Policy Talks @ the Ford School: Gerry Anderson on energy policy and Michigan's economic recovery · · University of Michigan
“In early 2017, right in the middle of all of the talk, we actually came out and said we are going to reduce our carbon emissions 80% and retire our coal plants in the process. I was afraid President would take us to task on Twitter, but in reality, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. We got big press coverage worldwide because people were interested in this whole topic. Since then, the whole industries moved in that direction. The industry moved hard in the direction of commitment to decarbonization, in the middle of the Trump administration because the industry believes that's where we are headed.”
On , Gerard Anderson, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at DTE Energy, spoke about climate policy during Policy Talks @ the Ford School: Gerry Anderson on energy policy and Michigan's economic recovery on University of Michigan.
About Gerard Anderson
In an April 2021 appearance at the Ford School, former DTE Chairman and CEO Gerry Anderson discussed energy policy and Michigan's economic recovery from COVID-19. Anderson stated that the utility industry is "desirous of trying to establish what we call an ambitious, but technically grounded clean energy standard," and said the industry favors such a standard over a carbon fee because a fee "doesn't necessarily correlate to a known carbon reduction." He noted that DTE announced in early 2017 a plan to reduce carbon emissions 80% and retire its coal plants, and described the reaction as "overwhelmingly positive." Anderson also addressed the Texas power crisis, attributing high residential bills to a deregulated market where "marketers can pass through the provider spikes to homeowners." He distinguished between rates and bills, saying DTE has "relatively high rates and relatively low bills" due to lower electricity usage in Michigan. Anderson also reflected on the pandemic's impact, predicting that reduced business travel would be a "permanent change for the better in terms of lower energy use," while noting that home energy use had risen and was "likely to be permanent, too." He served as co-chair of the Michigan Economic Recovery Council, which was tasked with forming a reopening plan during the pandemic.