Dec. 19, 2025 | This Week in Government: PSC Approves Data Center Contracts Unanimously; Whitmer and Nessel Remain at Odds on Decision

The Michigan Public Service Commission on Thursday unanimously approved contracts for DTE Energy Company to power the upcoming hyperscale data center in Saline Township while imposing various conditions on the agreement.

The crowd erupted when public comment was not taken before the decision to approve the contracts, with crowd members calling out that they don’t know the details of the contract. The commission approved the contracts on an ex-parte basis, which means it is not taking input from other parties.

Attorney General Dana Nessel and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer remain on opposing sides of the discourse on the data center’s development. Whitmer championed the move, and Nessel claimed the commission, whose members are appointed by Whitmer, has cut corners on the deal.

Mike Byrne, chief operating officer at the commission, said the terms of the contract, which would pay for 1.33 gigawatts of energy over a 15-year period, would include a power supply agreement that would generate an affordability benefit to DTE’s other customers to spread the company’s fixed costs.

He said while many individuals petition the commission to start a contested case, the order would not result in an increase to rates.

Other parts of the conditional approval include a minimum contract duration of 19 years, compared to the standard agreement of five years, a minimum billing demand of 80% of the contracted electricity instead of the standard 50-60%, even if the entire amount of electricity is not used, and a termination payment of up to 10 years’ worth of billing demand if the facility stops operating earlier than contracted.

The commission has also directed the company to file a renewable energy plan, clean energy plan, analysis of the utility’s capacity compared to the data center’s usage need, and an energy waste reduction plan.

Commissioner Katherine Peretick said during comment after anger from the crowd that this was a conditional approval and that their decision was meant to decide if DTE was being “reasonable and prudent.”

She said she was comfortable voting to approve the contracts since their subject matter is within PSC jurisdiction, which is energy supply, not other considerations like water usage, noise pollution, or the merits of artificial intelligence generally.

“The power supply agreement and energy storage agreement are well negotiated, solid contracts,” Peretick said. “They show a net financial benefit to DTE’s other customers of approximately $300 million per year. That is a real cost savings at a time when affordability is so important.”

Peretick said the approval is contingent on DTE agreeing to bear all risks of costs, and if it turns out to be “overly optimistic,” DTE can refile the case as contested.

Commissioner Shaquila Myers said the case was meant to ensure there was sufficient power to serve all customers and individual customers were not subsidizing the data center.

She said all risks associated with collateral will be taken on by DTE, not the customers, and the commission can at any time go back and disapprove of the contracts.

Chair Dan Scripps said PSC approval on ex parte basis is a normal process for the commission. He said he believed the commission is holding itself to a higher standard, saying members don’t take things on faith and want all the facts in front of them.

He said he knows of similar contracts happening in other states, and he puts the DTE contracts on par with or better than other utility contracts.

He said the commission considered the idea of AI as a bubble, saying that even “if this is all overblown, and the load doesn’t materialize,” the customers would still be protected.

Throughout board comment, audience members left yelling about government being in the pocket of big business and worrying about the health of the community with the center.

Byrne also said the commission would approve future applications for battery storage to meet the electricity demand of the data center.

Part of the contract also says in an energy emergency, the data center’s load would be interrupted before interrupting other customers’ service, Byrne said.

The meeting included over an hour of public comments.

Nichole Keway Biber, an organizer for Clean Water Action, said the contract was a “long list of promises of conditionalities” and that the commission should change their name from a public service commission to who she said they actually serve: the governor who appointed them, elected politicians who are acting on returns of investment from their campaign contributors, the chambers of commerce, the big bosses of labor, and union workers and the “tech bro oligarchy.”

Justin Macauley, another commenter, said he didn’t believe the claims that zero costs would be shifted to ratepayers, saying billions for new lines of power don’t just vanish, landing on “families already stretched thin.”

The commissioners did not take questions from reporters after the meeting.

Attorney General Dana Nessel has criticized the commission and called for it to go through a contested case process.

The one public comment hearing before the decision received mixed reviews across the nearly 5,000 public comments.

After the vote, Nessel released a statement saying that while she was relieved to hear the commission had placed some conditions on the DTE application, she was extremely disappointed in the decision to not hold a contested case hearing and wanted more clarity on what the original contracts looked like.

“This secret contract still leaves Michiganders scrounging for hidden and vital details that could harm ratepayers should these AI corporations leave, move out of state, or simply go bankrupt,” Nessel said. “None of the conditions proposed by the commission will bring these terms into public view, including what exit fee provisions might be in effect before December 2027. Rushing approval through an ex parte process lets DTE brush past important questions and shields the utility from the transparency the public deserves, and review by essential consumer protection organizations and offices such as mine, which I take personally as an elected official charged with protecting the consumers of this state.”

On the other hand, Whitmer has trumpeted the project, wanting to move the contracts along quickly.

Whitmer, after the approval, said in a statement the Stargate project “cements our state as the place to pioneer cutting-edge technology and change the world.

“It is the largest economic project in state history, creating 2,500 good-paying union construction jobs, more than 450 good-paying permanent jobs, and more than 1,500 jobs in the surrounding community,” she said, going on to claim it will be one of the most advanced data centers ever built.

“With this project, we are ensuring we can grow our economy while also protecting our environment and precious natural resources,” Whitmer continued. “That’s why we worked with these companies to ensure that Stargate complies with Michigan law and will protect Michigan’s air, land, and water. I’ll keep working with anyone to create good-paying jobs and build a bright future for our state.”

Rep. Morgan Foreman, D-Pittsfield Township, whose legislative district includes Saline Township, released a statement saying she was disappointed in the decision. She said the commission was robbing the people of her community to ask questions and speak with the companies involved.

“I have said from the beginning that approving these contracts without full transparency would set a dangerous precedent,” Foreman said. “This is not ‘doing business with’ a community, which implies a mutual and reciprocal relationship with residents and neighbors; it is forcing themselves onto us, without discussion or review.”

The Michigan League of Conservation Voters said in a statement the state had an opportunity to set a high standard for data center development but fell short.

“The very nature of this conditional approval underscores why Michiganders need confidence that their bills won’t rise and our affordable clean energy future is protected,” Lisa Wozniak, the president of the league, said. “While these conditions attempt to hold DTE accountable, moving such a massive data center forward with limited expert review and heavily redacted agreements still raises serious concerns.”

Members of the Senate voted on Tuesday evening on a supplemental appropriations bill that would reinstate about $634 million in funding for work projects that were cut last week by the House Appropriations Committee.

The Senate in a 23-13 vote passed HB 4576, which contains $634 million ($351.5 million General Fund) for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

As passed, it would largely offset the $645 million in funding that House Republicans disapproved in work projects last week, which infuriated Democrats as well as some GOP lawmakers while blindsiding recipients of the funding who were confused as to how their projects were called waste, fraud, and abuse.

Five Republicans sided with the Democrats to restore the funding: Sen. Jon Bumstead of North Muskegon, Sen. John Damoose of Harbor Springs, Sen. Mark Huizenga of Walker, Sen. Ed McBroom of Vulcan, and Sen. Michael Webber of Rochester Hills. One Democrat, Sen. Sylvia Santana of Detroit, was absent and did not vote.

The vote came moments before Senate Democrats announced they sent a letter to Attorney General Dana Nessel seeking an opinion on the legality of the House’s use of the rarely used provision in the Management and Budget Act to enact the sweeping work project cuts.

In the letter, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, asked Nessel if the provision in the Management and Budget Act is constitutional.

“The scope of this action is unprecedented, and as such, it has raised serious questions about the legality of Section 451a of the Act and the committee’s application of that language,” Anthony wrote. “To that end, I ask for your opinion as to the following question: Whether the provision in MCL 18.1451a(3), allowing either the Senate or House Appropriations committees to disapprove work projects designated by the State Budget Office, violates the Michigan Constitution?”

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, told reporters that Senate Democrats have been weighing their options to respond since last week’s move by the House. She said it took time to figure out exactly what the House had done so the supplemental could be crafted to accurately reflect the proposed restoration of funding.

“We thought it was very important to right that wrong, and really it’s about the people who are impacted,” Brinks said. “It’s incredibly important that we make those people whole and that we can help restore the trust that they should be able to have when the state makes a promise that they get certain funding to do certain things for the public good.”

Brinks said Senate Democrats have been clear on what they think of the House cuts and her hope is that House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, gets the message.

She added that she is not interested in negotiating the supplemental and that the funding needs to be restored.

As to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s silence on the work project cuts over the last week, Brinks said the governor has a stake in the cut items.

“She was an active participant in negotiating this budget and ensuring that these dollars get to the entities for whom they were intended,” Brinks said.

Brinks said it was disappointing to see the House take the approach on work projects that it did last week.

“Having worked with them for a year now, it was not a move that should surprise anyone, seeing their willingness to do that kind of damage, but it is a positive thing that there are at least some things that we can work together on,” Brinks said. “Actually, I’m quite proud of my caucus for being willing to set some of those other feelings aside and do some of the things that do matter to people that are depending on us to come here, represent them and move legislation.”

She explained that the roughly $11 million difference between the supplemental and what the House disallowed was due to that money being in boilerplate, so that funding could not be disallowed.

In a statement, Hall took aim at Senate Democrats and was dismissive of their vote to reinstate the funding.

“The Senate Democrats are so addicted to pork and their secret slush funds that they just voted to reinstate the waste, fraud and abuse that House Republicans fought to eliminate,” Hall said. “Ultimate Lansing insiders like Sarah Anthony continue to do the bidding of lobbyists and the radical left special interests. Not the taxpayers. This isn’t surprising at all.”

House Speaker Matt Hall on Tuesday continued to deflect and defend his caucus eliminating hundreds of millions of dollars in work projects.

Last week, the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee unilaterally voted to disapprove $645 million in work projects.

The total amount cut, however, remains unclear because how much money was already spent and what programs, specifically, were affected is unknown.

Hall, R-Richland Township, faulted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer‘s administration for the uncertainty.

“The Whitmer administration cannot really produce for us what a lot of these programs are, how much of the money has been spent, what’s out the door, what isn’t, who the beneficiaries are,” he said. “The governor has not been able to provide a lot of those answers to us or to the media, and I think that is a symptom of the pork spending being out of control.”

Hall’s comments came during a press conference that ended with protesters outside the Speaker’s Library, who could be heard chanting on the livestream. Tuesday also saw a press conference from the Legislative Black Caucus and a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing slamming the cuts and the Senate moved to reverse the House action via a supplemental.

Hall alleged that much of the money for work projects was going to lobbyists for bonuses and on “secret pork spending.”

“You’re seeing the symptoms of that with this $10 billion slush fund and all the hundreds of millions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse,” he said. “You see projects that they snuck in the budget in the middle of the night, and nobody knew what they were. … A lot of these pork spending projects, they’re taking that money, and they’re paying lobbyists win bonuses, and they hide it under things like association management.”

Legislatively directed spending items were out of control, Hall said, and the process needs to be reformed. He said departments were creating “slush funds” with unspent money.

“They get to hold on to it indefinitely for years and years, with no legislative oversight,” he said. “So, what we’re doing here, we’re denying it, and now we’re forcing a negotiation.”

Hall again said that many state departments did not send House Republicans information about work projects until last week.

“In some cases, we kept those priorities from being cut because the department gave us the justifications,” he said. “I was never trying to disrupt really critical things that would create cataclysmic problems.”

An example of that, Hall said, was Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve funding. That money included appropriations to Dow Chemical, located in the 35th Senate District, which is an open seat that Republicans are hoping to flip in the upcoming special election next year.

The State Budget Office, however, sent more than 500 pages of detailed information to fiscal agencies about work projects, along with a summary to legislators on Nov. 14. Departments also compiled an additional 75 pages of documentation, and several departments met with Rep. Tom Kuhn, R-Troy, the week of Nov. 14. Departments were not asked to provide additional testimony.

“Departments complied with requests from Speaker Hall and House Appropriations Committee members, including providing more than 500 pages of materials on work projects. This documentation made clear that disapproval would mean voting to halt funding for local road, bridge and water infrastructure repairs, senior centers, job creation efforts, and other commonsense measures,” a statement from State Budget Director Jen Flood said. “While the governor and Senate Democrats are working to create jobs and lower costs for Michiganders, this was a vote to raise costs and harm some of our most vulnerable Michiganders.”

Worthwhile projects would have an opportunity to have their funding restored, Hall said.

“We have an obligation to put a pause on this, to force a conversation on our timeline next year,” he said. “When we see good programs that are justified, we’ll but those back in in a deal.”

Hall went on to say that it was not the responsibility of House Republicans to contact programs that were losing funding, and that it was on departments to have a better understanding of what money was spent.

As for Senate Republicans, like Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, that had a problem with the cuts? Hall called them “budget traitors.”

During a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on Tuesday, Damoose questioned whether these cuts would incentivize organizations to spend down money as fast as possible, which could open the door for more waste.

Hall brushed the concern aside.

“I think you start to see who the Republican budget traitors are, the people shove their pork into department budgets and are pissed off that their pork got cut,” he said. “What you should do is you should negotiate up front for the multi-year programs, like what we did in the ’26 budget, and then it should be the exception to the rule.”

In the future, Hall said that the confusion regarding what was cut won’t be a problem because of the new transparency laws requiring legislatively directed spending items to be introduced with a sponsor and a clear beneficiary 45 days before the budget is passed.

Ultimately, it was not House Republicans responsibility to know what was being cut, but rather on departments to know what is being spent, Hall said, and they don’t know because “spending is so out of control.”

“What you’re saying to me is, should you approve the spending of dollars when they won’t sufficiently justify what the use is?” he said. “And the answer to that is no.”

Michigan lacks the authority to interfere with Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac as federal policy governs its operation, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a case stemming from the 2020 move by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to terminate the pipeline’s easement.

U.S. Judge Robert Jonker ruled Wednesday in Enbridge Energy v. Whitmer (USWDM Docket No. 20-01141), which was first filed five years ago.

Enbridge filed the suit to block Whitmer’s move to terminate an easement from the 1950s, which allows the company’s Line 5 Pipeline to operate.

The company argued, and Jonker agreed, that federal law preempts the effort by Michigan to effectively shutter the pipeline’s operations.

In the ruling, Jonker wrote Congress expressly preempted state regulation of interstate pipeline safety through a 1992 law. Additionally, the United States federal government and Canada agree that the state’s attempt to shut down Line 5 interferes with foreign policy positions and trade relations, he wrote.

“Pipeline safety generally, and protection of the Straits of Mackinac, are critical interests to be sure,” Jonker wrote. “But when it comes to Line 5, they are the responsibility of the United States and Michigan lacks the power to interfere.”

Whitmer and the Department of Natural Resources cited in November 2020 multiple and frequent violations of the public trust doctrine as it moved to terminate the 1953 easement that allows the dual pipelines to operate in the Straits of Mackinac. Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit in the Ingham County Circuit Court at the same time.

The lawsuit and the easement revocation ordered Enbridge to cease the pipeline’s operations in May 2021, but that never happened. There are several ongoing lawsuits, and Enbridge continues to work on getting the necessary permit’]\\s to construct a tunnel to house the pipeline.

Jonker rejected the state’s argument that the Pipeline Safey Act provides an exception for federal preemption for states to make “locations and routing” decisions. He ruled the exception only applies to new pipeline facilities.

“Line 5, however, is not a new pipeline facility. Its location has been established for over 70 years,” he wrote. “Michigan made its ‘location and routing’ determination when it agreed to the 1953 easement. The pipeline has been fully operational since that time. As such, Michigan can no longer determine its ‘location or routing.’”

Yonker wrote “for better or worse, the national government has unequivocally decided to displace state power,” when it comes to interstate pipeline safety.

“An oil spill in Michigan’s Great Lakes would undoubtably be an environmental catastrophe. And Michigan would undoubtably be the recipient of almost all the environmental damage that would result,” he wrote. “Defendants’ shutdown order and multiple amicus briefs emphasize this fact. The Great Lakes are also a vital natural resource. Alone, they contain roughly 84% of the North America’s fresh surface water and 21% of the world’s. They must be protected. All relevant parties – Enbridge, Michigan, the United States, and Canada – should continue to work together to ensure that the Great Lakes are kept safe.”

The House and Senate moved some legislation Tuesday as part of a deal to get a flurry of bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during the last days of session.

Senate Democrats acknowledged there was a deal in place to move several bill packages before the end of the year. Although its status after the House moved to kill work project funding last week was unclear.

A House Republican source told Gongwer News Service there is an agreement between the House and the Senate to move 18 bill packages before the end of the year. The legislation will split public acts between the House and the Senate.

The list includes legislation from both chambers to regulate online ticket sales, update the liquor codes, and several other regulatory reform bills.

Most of the bills the House passed during Tuesday’s session were part of the agreement. The Senate passed fewer bills, and also moved a supplemental reversing work project cuts made by the House last week, but Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said the Senate could be back Thursday.

The Senate is not taking attendance on Wednesday.

Brinks told reporters the Senate will determine if there is any additional business to take care of on Thursday.

“There are some things that been in a queue for a long time,” Brinks said. “We have been working to try and un-stick some bills, so we’d be happy to see some of those things move.”

Brinks said some bills that have been the subject of discussion with the House were passed in the Senate on Tuesday. She also acknowledged that it was tough to determine a path forward on remaining legislation following the House’s move last week to defund hundreds of millions of dollars in work projects.

“We had to really come back into the room and evaluate what it was our caucus was willing to do,” Brinks said.

During session on Tuesday, the House passed SB 685, SB 686, SB 687, SB 688, SB 689, SB 690, and SB 699.

The bills are designed to protect farmland and open space through agreements that restrict development and prove tax incentives for program participation. By enrolling for a minimum of 10 years, landowners may be entitled to certain income tax benefits.

SB 685 passed 102-3. Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers; Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford; and Rep. Dylan Wegela, D-Garden City, voted no. SB 686 passed by the same margin and with the same opposition. SB 687, SB 688, and SB 689 passed 103-3. Carra, Maddock, and Wegela were, again, the only no votes. SB 690 passed 102-4. Carra, Maddock, Wegela and Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Township, voted no. The final bill in that package, SB 699, passed 103-3, with Carra, Maddock, and Wegela voting against it.

The House also passed SB 96, SB 97, and SB 98, which allow child care organizations to install temporary door locking devices in their buildings. Both bills passed unanimously.

SB 82, which would shield the personal information of Michigan judges, their families and households, was also part of the agreement. It passed the House 99-6. Carra, Rep. Joseph Fox, R-Freemont; Rep. Tom Kuhn, R-Troy; Maddock; Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion; and Wegela voted no.

SB 23, which modifies the Land Division Act to allow for an increased number of parcel divisions also passed the House as part of the deal. It passed 97-5 with a substitute and will return to the Senate. Rep. Julie Brixie, D-Okemos; Rep. William Bruck, R-Erie; Rep. Peter Herzberg, D-Westland; Rep. Sharon MacDonell, D-Troy; Rep. Phil Skaggs, D-East Grand Rapids; Steele; Wegela; and Rep. Regina Weiss, D-Oak Park, voted no.

SB 25 also passed the House as part of the deal. The legislation allows motor vehicle repair facilities to operate an auxiliary facility under the same registration. It passed 102-3. Carra, Rep. Brad Paquette, R-Niles; and Wegela voted no.

The House also unanimously passed SB 95, which was not part of the agreement.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Lindsey, R-Coldwater, prohibits hospitals from attempting to collect debts incurred during any period in which they were not in compliance with federal hospital price transparency laws and regulations.

The Senate for its part moved only a small number of House bills on Tuesday that may have been included in the deal.

One bill which passed was HB 4543, which would amend the Income Tax Act to update how the Department of Treasury makes its yearly inflation adjustment for the Home Heating Tax Credit, using the U.S. Consumer Price Index to account for inflation. The bill passed 31-4.

Also passing the Senate was HB 4836, which would create an opt-out waiver for the workforce readiness portion of the M-STEP. It passed 32-3. The accompanying Senate bill, SB 349, previously passed the House with a substitute. Senators voted 35-0 to concur in the House substitute.