LANSING, Mich. — Three of the Upper Peninsula’s state elected officials, along with Rep.-elect Karl Bohnak, on Thursday called for immediate action to adjust Michigan’s energy laws. This comes after the release of a comprehensive study of the U.P.’s unique energy landscape was released by the Michigan Public Service Commission on Dec. 1.
“There were no surprises in the report,” said Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River. “We were saying these things when the bills were passed last year. Forcing the closure of our new, highly-efficient natural gas power plants and converting to all-local renewables or distant transmission, as the new law requires, would be devastating to our grid reliability and our energy costs.”
The report was required by the law itself and is about 165 pages long. It details the delicate and complicated landscape and history of U.P. power generation, including the high System Support Resource (SSR) payments all U.P. residents were forced to pay when the Presque Isle Power Plant was slated to close. The state of Michigan, Cleveland-Cliffs, and WEC Energy Group reached an agreement paving the way for a major investment to bring the new, natural gas generation online in 2019 ending the SSR payments. The energy laws passed last year would force their shut down in the next decade.
“Upper Peninsula stakeholders and objective energy experts warned us about the harm the bills passed last year would have on major regional employers, their long-term viability and rates in general,” said Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock. “The report verifies those claims, and we should act quickly to adopt the ‘McBroom Amendment,’ which Sen. McBroom offered last year.”
In addition to verifying the concerns of the new law being implemented in the U.P., the report further concedes that there are few alternatives to address the concerns that will not further increase costs and decrease reliability. The report’s conclusions stipulate legislative action is essential to any other outcome unless enormous gains can be made in reducing the amount of energy residents are currently using, which is not a realistic expectation.
Sen. Ed McBroom wrote his amendment and attempted to have it passed, first in the Senate, then in the House. The amendment, similar to ones passed for natural gas plants in other areas of the state, would have allowed the recently installed natural gas-fired plants in the U.P. to operate until the end of their useful life.
“We had all of this info already,” said McBroom, R-Waucedah Township. “We had several U.P. energy studies done in the last decade and doing this one was an unfortunate compromise and loss of valuable time. All we needed was one more vote to apply this amendment last year. The Upper Peninsula has been a leader in reducing emissions in its power sector. It is time that Michigan energy policy acknowledges what we have accomplished in the U.P. and pass this amendment to ensure that our energy security is not jeopardized.”
The “McBroom Amendment” has been reintroduced by Prestin as House Bill 6044. The legislators encourage the public to contact the Legislature and governor and ask for immediate affirmative action on the issue before the current session ends in two weeks.
U.P. ratepayers have already been made to wait more than a year for a study to show what we already realized — that Michigan’s clean energy mandate requires special accommodation for the unique energy landscape in the U.P. It is now time to put ratepayers’ anxiety to rest and pass this important legislation.
“This issue should not wait for a new year, but should be taken care of now,” said Rep.-elect Karl Bohnak, R-Marquette. “Ensuring our energy is reliable and cost-affordable is one of my highest priorities as I join the U.P. legislative team. We will work together to make sure the U.P. voice is heard on these issues.”
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