ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — As the owner of five restaurants, including The Brown Jug and The Blue Leprechaun in Ann Arbor, Perry Porikos knows good food. He swears that cooking with natural gas makes the food taste better.
"With electrical, you have to go back and forth and make an adjustment," he said. "It's a lot more complicated with electrical."
But Porikos and everyone else in Ann Arbor who uses natural gas to cook or heat their homes could be using an alternate heat source as city officials weigh their options for a clean energy alternative to move to in 2027.
"If it's a government decision, I will follow it. Do I believe in that? No. Do I agree with that? No," Porikos told 7 Action News. "We don't have enough electricians. I don't think we have enough resources to make these drastic steps."
City officials say their fossil fuel gas franchise, a 30-year contract, with DTE is set to expire in 2027. City council recently approved a resolution that empowers their administrator to work with DTE and other interested utility companies to begin a transition to clean, renewable energy for heat in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor's A2ZERO plan includes becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
"Studies show that burning fossil fuels in our homes is directly correlated with childhood asthma, with lung disease, and with cancer. And no person should have to sacrifice their health and safety simply to heat their home or business," said Councilperson Jen Eyer.
Related: How the city of Ann Arbor plans to be carbon neutral by 2030
But, DTE's Director of Gas Sales and Marketing HJ Decker said there is still an ongoing debate on reported health concerns.
Decker, who also happens to also be a resident of Ann Arbor, adds, "Transitioning away from natural gas too quickly has some downside risk to it, particularly for heating. It increases the need for electricity much faster than the grid could potentially bear. We believe that it's incredibly costly not only up front for equipment, but also ongoing utility costs tend to be much, much higher."
Councilperson Eyer said clean, renewable energy is what residents are demanding.
"Fossil fuel gas alone produces more than 25 percent of Ann Arbor's polluting emissions, making efforts to clean this stream critical to meeting the city's goal of community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030," according to Ann Arbor city officials.
"This is going to be a long transition and it's going to be a careful transition," Eyer said. "We are not going to leave people out in the cold with this. And we understand that people have gas generators that they rely on because DTE's electric grid is so unreliable.
Listening sessions and a request for ideas are being planned so that members of the community can offer input to the city as they negotiate a new heating franchise.
Porikos doubts a switch away from natural gas can take place, even in a few years. "It's impossible," he said.
