The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) met on December 5 but did not issue a decision regarding DTE Energy’s application for approval of two special contracts. These contracts would provide power to a proposed 1.4-gigawatt data center in Saline Township.
DTE previously stated that the MPSC needed to approve the contracts by December 5, calling it a critical deadline. However, after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a notice of intervention, DTE acknowledged that the contract allows for an extension until December 19.
Attorney General Nessel commented: “DTE has spent weeks insisting that December 5 was a do-or-die deadline for the MPSC to approve its secret deal to service a data center that would use as much power as a million households only to come clean that their hidden contract allows for this so-called deadline to be extended to December 19. This manufactured timeline was all a pressure tactic to rush through a heavily redacted contract that – for some reason – DTE does not want my office or the public to see.”
She added: “Residents have made clear their opposition to these hidden agreements, and their concerns deserve to be fully heard – not brushed aside. This ‘new’ deadline only became public after my office filed a notice to intervene and is precisely why we need a contested case and full public proceedings. We can’t just take DTE’s word that Michigan ratepayers won’t be left footing the bill for this data center.”
Nessel also said: “The next MPSC meeting will mark 48 days since DTE filed for an ex parte application. That’s nearly 7 weeks of wasted time that could have been used evaluating these contracts, had they been willing to undergo the normal process. The MPSC should not give in to this pressure campaign and should insist on holding full public hearings that are transparent, thorough, and centered on the interests of Michigan residents – as they are expected to do.”
The MPSC’s next scheduled meeting is set for December 18.