‘Get it right’: Residents urge Michigan regulators not to rush DTE deal for Saline Township data center

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Over 800 people joined an online hearing Wednesday on DTE Energy’s push to fast track approval for a massive, 1.4 gigawatt Oracle and OpenAI data center in Saline Township.

The three members of the Michigan Public Service Commission did not indicate in their remarks whether they will allow a contested case on DTE’s proposed electric contract. A contested case would enable parties representing businesses, environmental interests, ratepayers, and other groups to submit testimony on the electric contracts for the Saline Township data center.

State regulators are learning from data center issues in other states to “ensure that we protect residents on the issues of affordability, reliability, and resource adequacy,” said Commissioner Katherine Peretick. The commission is evaluating the contracts DTE submitted to ensure other Michigan customers do not pay for costs incurred by data centers, she said. 

Several commenters told commissioners that meeting the data center’s electricity demand could increase their utility bills, decrease energy reliability, undermine Michigan’s climate law, and potentially leave ratepayers to pay for stranded costs if the data center uses less power than anticipated or ceases operation. 

DTE Energy maintains that supplying power to the data center will not increase costs for other customers. 

Representatives for unions and businesses spoke in favor of the data center, saying it would produce thousands of temporary construction jobs and bring significant tax revenue to local communities.

Commenter Ron Smith, with the grassroots group Macomb Defenders Rising, said the project could compound rising electricity costs for Michigan ratepayers, adding that the massive increase in energy demand may allow DTE to avoid compliance with Michigan’s 2023 clean energy law.

“This will give DTE a built-in loophole to delay the transition to clean energy, expand fossil fuel use, and build more gas infrastructure, all at the expense of Michigan families,” Smith said.

DTE pushes for approval of data center contracts by Friday

DTE is pushing state regulators to greenlight its contracts to supply power to the Saline Township data center at its Friday, Dec. 5 meeting, and said the project could be canceled if it isn’t approved by that date. The utility has said a contested case is unnecessary because the project will not increase the cost of service for other customers.

Saline resident Marilla Widerquist said the time pressure placed on the project by developer Related Digital is “clearly a scare tactic.” 

“Those who are for ex parte approval represent business interests and not the average resident, which has been made clear by the comments tonight,” she said. 

Commenter Eric Hartsfield urged the commission to allow a contested case, and expressed concern that DTE’s contracts may have inadequate protections for repercussions like stranded assets.

“This is the first of DTE’s steps toward taking care of data center customers. I just feel like it’s really important that we take the time to get it right,” he said.

Hartsfield called attention to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s support for a contested case.

“The contracts remain public only under significant redactions and promises made by DTE to hold ratepayers harmless remain flimsy and unsupported in the public record,” Nessel said in a Nov. 18 statement.

4,800 comments on DTE data center proposal

By Wednesday afternoon, the case had over 4,800 comments on the MPSC’s webpage, many of them calling for a contested case or expressing opposition to the data center. In contrast, 363 comments have been submitted on the MPSC site for DTE’s pending $574 million electric rate hike request, which has also met with opposition.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a statement in support of DTE’s data center plan just minutes before Wednesday night’s meeting. She said the project would create 2,500 union construction jobs, 450 permanent, high-skill jobs on site, and 1,500 more jobs in the county.

Whitmer’s administration has vetted environmental protections for the project, and confirmed the facility’s power demands can be met with existing DTE generation, and upgrades for the project will maintain reliability without shifting costs to other ratepayers, the statement said. 

“The reality is that data centers are going to be a big part of America’s future. The question isn’t whether they will be built, but rather: Can Michigan benefit from these jobs and build data centers in a smarter way while upholding our strong environmental laws to protect our precious natural resources?” Whitmer asked.

Cadillac resident Cody Gilbert expressed skepticism of the benefits of the project Wednesday night, and said artificial intelligence that’s powered by data centers is set to take millions of jobs.

“What good is additional tax revenue when we’re set with climate disasters in the future that are going to be taking lives across the globe and are already affecting our lives here in Michigan?”

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