DTE contracts for $7 billion Saline Township data center face public hearing

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A public hearing will be held Dec. 3 on DTE Energy’s request to fast track approval of electric contracts for a $7 billion data center in Saline Township.

The utility company made the request to the Michigan Public Service Commission, or MPSC, on Halloween for the data center, a project known as Stargate that’s being developed by ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Oracle, and Related Digital.

The virtual public hearing is 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3.

DTE Electric’s application to the state’s utility regulator is for approval of special contracts for electric service with an Oracle subsidiary for the 1.4-gigawatt data center. The data center’s power demands represent 25% of DTE’s energy load, as Planet Detroit has previously reported.

DTE asked regulators to fast track approval of the Stargate data center before year’s end, warning that any delay could jeopardize the project’s planned construction start in early 2026.

“This public hearing will add an important element of transparency in evaluating DTE Electric Co.’s proposed special contract,” MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said in a statement.

“It’s important that the public have an opportunity to have their voices heard on how DTE plans to provide electric service to this data center customer and ensure the costs of doing so are not ultimately borne by DTE’s other customers.”

The MPSC said it will review the contract for reasonableness and prudence and other requirements within its authority, such as protections “for other ratepayers potentially impacted by a very large new customer on the power grid.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has requested a contested proceeding in the DTE Energy data center contract case. Whether the case will be contested has not yet been decided, MPSC spokesperson Matt Helms told Planet Detroit Tuesday.

Nessel said a contested proceeding would allow for 180 days from the date of DTE’s application before a decision is issued by the MPSC.

The Saline Township data center will not increase rates for DTE Energy customers, Ryan Lowry, a spokesperson for the utility, told Planet Detroit in a Tuesday statement. The energy contracts under review by the MPSC “make sure of this,” he said.

“DTE, like the attorney general and the MPSC, is focused on customer affordability, which is why we have taken additional steps in our contracts with Oracle to ensure the data center will absorb all costs associated with the storage assets that are being developed as part of this project.”

DTE appreciates the commission’s consideration of comments through the public hearing process as it “considers this tremendous opportunity for our customers and the state of Michigan,” Lowry said.

Read Planet Detroit’s guide to the MPSC, which oversees the state’s utilities.

Regulators under pressure to OK data center contracts: Nessel

DTE Energy specifically requested the application be approved without formal hearings or traditional oversight, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a Monday statement.

Nessel intervened in the MPSC case to request public hearings and a contested proceeding.

Nessel urged the public to comment on DTE’s application for the data center contracts.

“The Public Service Commission is under extraordinary and unprecedented political and industry pressure to close their eyes, plug their nose, and fast-track these special contracts that have the potential to shape state energy policy for decades to come,” Nessel said.

“Just last week, a bipartisan group of state legislators with no ties to Saline penned open letters supporting this fast-track, no-review plan to advance DTE’s agenda.”

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