"Though partisan gridlock is the political buzzword of the day, it's another kind of grid that's making political sparks fly in Michigan. There, two powerful utility companies — Consumers Energy and DTE Energy — control the lion's share of the electric grid and appear to be behind a new advocacy effort that coincides with the start of a new legislative session.

Publicly available television contracts — compiled by Political Ad Sleuth — show that a group called "Citizens for Michigan's Energy Future" (CMEF) has agreed to pay $120,000 for 444 ad spots on broadcast TV stations in that state since December of last year.

Organized as a "social welfare organization" under section 501(c)4 of the Internal Revenue Code, the nonprofit group is not required to publicly disclose its donors, as a political committee would."

Peter Olsen-Phillips reports for the Sunlight Foundation January 15, 2015. [2]