Whitmer opposes Consumers Energy sale of 13 Michigan dams

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has formally opposed Consumers Energy's planned sale of 13 hydropower dams to a private equity-backed buyer, adding her voice to a growing list of critics ahead of a ruling by the Michigan Public Service Commission. In a letter to the commission, Whitmer pointed to the 2020 failure of dams near Midland, the near-failure of the Cheboygan Dam during flooding this spring, and the deteriorating Au Train Dam in the Upper Peninsula as evidence that private dam owners have "too often compromised public safety and imposed extraordinary costs on Michigan taxpayers."

Consumers plans to sell the dams to Confluence Hydro for $1 each, then buy back the power they generate at twice the market rate, a structure the utility says is cheaper for ratepayers than paying for repairs or decommissioning. Confluence has said it intends to invest in the dams long-term and has a record of safely operating hydroelectric facilities elsewhere.

Consumers said it is "disappointed" by Whitmer's letter, arguing the sale record shows Confluence is a capable operator with safeguards addressing her concerns, and that the state has not offered an alternative path to keep the dams in place. Whitmer and other critics, including the commission's own staff and Attorney General Dana Nessel, have also dismissed a $270 million safety fund Consumers proposed after an administrative law judge recommended rejecting the sale, calling it insufficient to cover long-term costs or prevent near-term safety failures.

If the sale is not approved, Consumers has said it would seek to decommission and tear down the dams, a move welcomed by some environmentalists but opposed by communities built around the reservoirs the dams create.

Read the full story at bridgemi.com.