Summer temperatures have been high this year. So have energy bills, and frustrations from customers. Higher costs are driven by more than extreme summer temperatures. Factors like outdated power grids and a recent $217 million rate hike approved for DTE Energy by state regulators earlier this year are also at play.

Meanwhile, federal clean-energy incentives are starting to phase out. Michigan was on track to increase its renewable energy capacity by 2035. But with key federal tax credits repealed by the Trump administration, the state faces higher future costs and delayed renewable projects.

Nicholas Schroeck, dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and an expert in environmental law and justice, joined Robyn Vincent to discuss energy affordability and sustainability and what residents can do about it.

Editor's Note: DTE Energy and Consumers Energy are financial supporters of WDET.