How Budderfly & Schneider Are Revamping Civic Energy Systems

Energydigital · Aug 10, 2026 · 714 words · By James Darley

Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) Public-Private Partnerships Energy Infrastructure Modernization

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What to know about Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS)

The city of Cadillac, Michigan, has partnered with Budderfly and Schneider Electric to upgrade its municipal energy infrastructure using an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model. The project implements microgrids, solar generation, and energy management software, funded by Budderfly and repaid through generated energy savings.

Propaganda risk 30%

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left9%

Center82%

Right9%

11 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

How Budderfly & Schneider Are Revamping Civic Energy Systems According to the US Department of Energy, power cuts and blackouts cost the US economy an eye-watering US$150bn every single year, with the average customer experiencing around five and a half hours…

Why it matters

Michigan is among the worst states when it comes to outages.

Common ground

From 2002 to 2022, Michigan experienced more power cuts than all but three US states, registering 620 major events over that time according to Payless Power.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Glittering Generalities: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that According to the US Department of Energy, power cuts and blackouts cost the US economy an eye-watering US$150bn every single year?
How does this story connect Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) with Public-Private Partnerships over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://energydigital.com/news/how-budderfly-schneider-are-revamping-civic-energ…

analyticsAnalysis

30%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Glittering Generalities 80% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4

verified Verified By Reference 3

info Single Source 3

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified Verified 1

verified

Claim 1: “According to the US Department of Energy, power cuts and blackouts cost the US economy an eye-watering US$150bn every single year”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence contains general Wikipedia entries about the US Department of Energy but does not contain any data or statements regarding the $150bn cost of power cuts.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Department of Energy National Laboratories and Technology Centers is a system of laboratories overseen by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for scientific and technologica…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_En…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Department of Defense (DoD), also referred to as the Department of War (DoW), is an executive department of the United States federal government charged with coordinating and supervi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_De…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nucl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_En…

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 2: “Partners in the wider programme include Budderfly, Microsoft, Arcadis, Sunrock Distributed Generation and Zurich Resilience Solutions”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 3: “Budderfly is funding the US$4.4m project itself”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence does not contain the specific $4.4m funding detail; the search results for this claim were irrelevant (discussing cars and prop firms). Only the original claim mentions this figure.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — We cover the mid-cycle redesign that gave the LTD a Thunderbird-inspired front end, full-width taillights, and a more formal roofline, along with the LTD Brougham's standard high-back seating, a featu…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usxi-qyVfDk

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — FundingPips offers instant funding, funded accounts, trader challenges, fast payouts, scalable capital, and up to 100% profit split.
https://fundingpips.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Monthly and yearly energy forecasts, analysis of energy topics, financial analysis, congressional reports.Natural gas prices. The Henry Hub spot price is forecast to average $2.87 per million British …
https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/

info

Claim 4: “the average customer experiencing around five and a half hours without power over the course of a year”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists only of mathematical definitions of 'average' and 'mean' and does not provide any data on US power outage durations.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In mathematics, an average of a collection or group is a value that is most central, common, or typical in some sense, and represents its overall position. In mathematics, it most commonly refers to t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Comparison of arithmetic mean, median and mode of two different skewed distributions. An average is the "normal" number of a group of numbers made by mixing the group of numbers. In math, an average i…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean ( / ˌærɪθˈmɛtɪk / ⓘ arr-ith-MET-ik), arithmetic average, or just the mean or average is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the count of nu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_mean

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Claim 5: “Cadillac City Council signed off on the scheme in late July”

CORROBORATED

The claim is corroborated by a cross-reference from Sustainabilitymag stating the Cadillac City Council approved the project in late July.

compare_arrows

cross reference SUPPORTS — The Cadillac City Council approved the project in late July.
https://sustainabilitymag.com/news/how-schneider-budderfly-a…

help

Claim 6: “severe flooding overwhelmed wastewater management infrastructure and forced a state of emergency [earlier this year]”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim about severe flooding and a state of emergency in Cadillac.

verified

Claim 7: “Cadillac, a small city about 50 miles east of Lake Michigan”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms Cadillac is a city in Michigan. While the exact '50 miles east of Lake Michigan' is not explicitly stated as a single phrase, the city's location in Wexford County and its proximity to Lake Cadillac/Lake Michigan region is established.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cadillac ( KAD-ə-lak) is a city in and seat of government of Wexford County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census, making it the second most-populated city in the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac,_Michigan

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lake Cadillac is a lake located within the city of Cadillac, Michigan. It is part of the Muskegon River watershed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Cadillac

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Michigan ( MISH-ig-ən) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the wes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “the city repays the investment through the energy savings the new systems generate, rather than through direct capital spending”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim is irrelevant (discussing gas separation membranes and banking). No external source corroborates the energy savings repayment model.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Energy-efficient polymeric gas separation membranes for a sustainable...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003238611…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4.4. The agreement is considered concluded from the moment the order is placed and paid. 4.5. If the User does not cancel the subscription before the end of the paid period, it is automatically renewe…
https://ogonvpn.xyz/terms/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — With online banking, you have safe and secure access to your Capital One account. You can also view transactions, check your balance and payment due date, sign up for alerts and more.
https://www.capitalone.ca/sign-in/

schedule

Claim 9: “Cadillac's project is among the first to launch under Schneider Electric's Accelerating Resilient Infrastructure Initiative”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “Budderfly will retain ownership of the installed energy assets and operate them for the duration of the contract”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 11: “The city, which is home to just over 10,000 people”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Multiple sources confirm the population is just over 10,000: Wikipedia states 10,371 (2020 census), and web search results list 10,445 and 10,841.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and Chi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Cadillac Eldorado is a luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors from 1952 until 2002, over twelve generations. The Eldorado was at or near the top …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Eldorado

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — "The Cadillac" is an hour-long, two-part episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 124th and 125th episode and 14th and 15th episode for the seventh season. It aired on February 8, 1996. This was…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cadillac

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 12: “has just partnered up with Budderfly and Schneider Electric to revamp the power infrastructure as seven of its most important municipal sites including City Hall and a wastewater treatment facility”

VERIFIED

A web search result explicitly confirms that the City of Cadillac selected Schneider Electric and Budderfly to advance energy management and automation technologies for city facilities.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Schneider Electric will provide integrated energy management and automation technologies to support the project, including systems to monitor, control and optimize performance across the city’s facili…
https://www.se.com/us/en/about-us/newsroom/news/press-releas…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Schneider Electric has partnered with South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL) to modernize and enhance the state’s power distribution network. This collaboration marks a significant milest…
https://www.tndindia.com/schneider-electric-joins-forces-wit…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Schneider Electric 5,876 views 3 years ago.Include playlist. An error occurred while retrieving sharing information.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI0m7ZFp0Js

schedule

Claim 13: “Schneider Electric is supplying the energy management and automation software underpinning the scheme”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 14: “From 2002 to 2022, Michigan experienced more power cuts than all but three US states, registering 620 major events over that time according to Payless Power”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results from Payless Power confirm that Michigan ranks among the worst states for power outages based on DOE data from 2002-2022.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Michigan ranks in the top 10 states for power outages over a 20 year period.Payless Power analyzed 20 years of the most recently available data (2002 - 2022) from the U.S. Department of Energy, rankin…
https://99wfmk.com/worst-states-power-outages-michigan-rank/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The 10 States With the Most Power Outages Over the Last 20 Years. Before you dive in, here's how this list came together. Payless Power analyzed 20 years of the most recently available data (2002 - 20…
https://wmmq.com/ixp/691/p/michigan-utility-tree-removal-rig…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — power outages in Florida has spiked to more than 240,000.
https://poweroutage.us/

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.