I work for Seattle City Light, which is a municipal utility that has sole franchise for all electrical power generation and distribution for Seattle and several suburbs. We are not subsidized - in fact, we tend to be a profit center for the city - and our rates are significantly lower than the investor owned utility across the water. We are about as unionized as you can get, but we still manage to keep the lights on and the rates low. We have some of the lowest rates of any utility in the country, and have one of the highest reliability ratings. We also score high on the JD Powers survey for customer satisfaction.

Detroit's situation is significantly different, of course, but don't expect outsourcing to make it cheaper: If it goes to Detroit Edison, the work currently done by AFSCME workers will surely get assigned to IBEW workers, who command a much higher rate, and are a much more influential union. Plus, the investors will want their pound of flesh.