Overview:

- Nessel's petition challenges regulators on the December approval of DTE Energy data center contracts.
- The Michigan Public Service Commission's order requires "the strongest consumer protections for a data center power contract in the country," spokesperson says.
- Nessel has criticized the redactions in copies of the DTE contracts that were made public.

by KYLE DAVIDSON
Michigan Advance

Following the Michigan Public Service Commission’s decision to sign off on a set of contracts for DTE Energy to supply 1.4 gigawatts of power to a data center in Saline Township, Michigan’s attorney general and a coalition of environmental and consumer advocacy groups have each filed a petition asking regulators to rehear the case. 

During its Dec. 18 meeting, the public service commission granted DTE’s request for ex parte approval, allowing the contracts to move forward without intervention from outside organizations, which would be able to conduct legal discovery and file testimony on the contracts. 

Ahead of the meeting, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the coalition, made up of the Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, advocated heavily for a contested case on the matter, arguing that it would allow intervenors to ensure that DTE customers are protected from concerns like increased energy rates due to heavy energy demand from the facility.

While the Commission approved both contracts, that approval hinges on several conditions, including requirements for DTE to update its tariff  structure for large-energy load customers, like data centers, and file an amended renewable energy plan to include a comparison of the resources it needs to meet the state’s requirement to provide 100% clean energy by 2040, both with and without the data center’s energy load.

The commission set a 30-day deadline for DTE to agree to the terms laid out in the Dec. 18 order.

In a statement released Friday, Nessel reiterated her disappointment in the commission’s decision to “fast-track DTE’s secret data center contracts without holding a contested case hearing,” criticizing the heavy redactions of the publicly available copies of the contracts.

“This was an irresponsible approach that cut corners and shut out the public and their advocates. Granting approval of these contracts ex parte serves only the interests of DTE and the billion-dollar businesses involved, like Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Companies, not the Michigan public the Commission is meant to protect,” Nessel said. 

Nessel’s petition for a rehearing challenges the commission’s authority to approve the contracts without a contested hearing. The petition also raises questions on how the conditions set by the commission would prevent DTE from passing along costs to serve the data center, which is under development by tech giant Oracle and data center developer Related Digital for use by ChatGPT-creator OpenAI. 

Matt Helms, the commission’s spokesperson, said in a statement that the body looks forward to considering Nessel’s petition for a rehearing, but denied any claims that they had not sufficiently reviewed the contracts. 

The commission’s staff thoroughly reviewed unredacted contracts to ensure customers are protected, Helms said.

“The Commission’s order in this case recognizes the utility’s obligation to serve this customer under Michigan law while requiring the strongest consumer protections for a data center power contract in the country – protections that would not be available under existing tariffs without the Commission’s approval of these contracts,” Helms said. 

Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan raised their own questions on how the conditions laid out by the commission would protect customers from increased energy rates, alongside other concerns, like how the conditions on the contracts will be enforced.

In a statement to the Michigan Advance, DTE spokesperson Ryan Lowry argued that the contracts protect their customers from subsidizing the data center’s energy rate. The company will continue to follow the regulatory process, Lowry said.

Michigan Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan raised their own questions on how the conditions laid out by the commission would protect customers from increased energy rates, alongside other concerns, like how the conditions on the contracts will be enforced. In a statement to the Michigan Advance, DTE spokesperson Ryan Lowry argued that the contracts protect their customers from subsidizing the data center’s energy rate. The company will continue to follow the regulatory process, Lowry said.

Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jon King for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

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