The Michigan Public Service Commission denied on Mar. 27 efforts by Attorney General Dana Nessel to examine energy contracts between DTE and Green Chile Ventures LLC, as well as her requests for a contested case proceeding regarding related battery storage facility contracts.
This development matters because the contracts involve significant financial implications for Michigan utility customers and have raised concerns about transparency and potential cost impacts. The commission’s decisions have prevented public review of heavily redacted agreements that could affect ratepayers across the state.
Nessel said, “The Michigan Public Service Commission continues to perform a grave disservice to the State of Michigan and the utility customers of this state, to the only apparent benefit of the utility corporations and their new billion-dollar AI customers.” She added that since October she has sought access for her office and other consumer advocates to review these secret contracts but has been repeatedly denied by commissioners. Nessel stated, “I have never seen, in the long history of our state, a process so secretive, rushed, and ripe for disaster as what the Commission rammed through here. My office will continue to explore our remaining options to protect the people of this state.”
In her motion to reopen proceedings in case U-21990, Nessel argued that DTE did not accept all conditions required by an earlier commission order regarding payments covering costs associated with serving Green Chile Ventures LLC. Instead of providing assurances that costs would not be shifted onto existing customers—as ordered—DTE indicated only that aggregate revenues over time would cover those costs. The commission’s response stated it “finds that the reference to aggregate revenues in the acceptance letter does not change or somehow endanger the cost allocations,” but did not directly address concerns about near-term subsidization.
Nessel also challenged whether statutory authority existed for approving such special contracts without a contested hearing and questioned if enforceable protections were in place should issues arise with contract fulfillment or customer solvency. The commission’s order provided no new explanations on these points.
According to the official website, Dana Nessel is Michigan’s 54th attorney general who leads an office focused on serving residents through public service initiatives such as actions against human trafficking and drafting policy like 2019’s Clean Slate law for expungement opportunities according to the Michigan Department of Attorney General. The department operates statewide with authority aimed at safeguarding residents according to its official site.
