Michigan MPSC Rejects Attorney General's Push to Review Secret Data Center Contracts as Google Secures Deal

State Regulators Shut Down Dana Nessel's Efforts to Examine DTE Data Center Deals

LANSING — The Michigan Public Service Commission unanimously rejected Attorney General Dana Nessel's efforts to examine energy contracts between DTE Energy and developers of a massive data center near Saline, the state utility regulator announced Friday.

The three MPSC members, each appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, provided no explanation for the decision to deny Nessel's motion to reopen and petition for rehearing over the contract. The commission also denied the Attorney General's request for a contested case proceeding to review six heavily redacted contracts for three battery storage facilities throughout the state.

"The Michigan Public Service Commission continues to perform a grave disservice to the state of Michigan and the utility customers of this state, to the only apparent benefit of the utility corporations and their new billion-dollar AI customers," Nessel said.

She said the commissioners have shut out her office and other consumer advocates since the contracts were first filed in October. Nessel said she has never seen a process so secretive and rushed in the state's history.

"My office will continue to explore our remaining options to protect the people of this state," Nessel said.

In her motion to reopen, Nessel argued that DTE failed to accept the commission's conditions for approval. She said DTE's response served as a counterproposal offering weaker protection for existing customers. The commission granted conditional approval of two data center contracts on December 18. The order required DTE to reply by letter within 30 days accepting the conditions, including representations that developers would cover costs to serve the data center without passing expenses to other customers.

DTE filed its response on January 15. Rather than making the required representation, DTE altered the language to state "the aggregate revenues generated by the customer will cover the costs to serve them." Nessel warned that this change might permit DTE to force near-term cost subsidization of the data center onto existing customers.

In its order, the commission stated it "finds that the reference to aggregate revenues in the acceptance letter does not change or somehow endanger the cost allocations that were placed on the approval."

Nessel also challenged the commission's statutory authority to approve special contracts without a contested case hearing. She sought clarification regarding the extent and enforceability of conditions ordered by the commission, expressing concerns that many conditions appear to require only repeated assurances from DTE rather than enforceable requirements.

The MPSC has repeatedly denied every request from the Attorney General's Office to review the heavily redacted contracts, verify DTE's claims of affordability benefits and verify adequate ratepayer protections like collateral and exit fee terms.

Ypsilanti Township Takes Strong Stand Against Supercomputing Facility

Meanwhile, Ypsilanti Township has taken a firmer stance against a University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory supercomputing facility on its soil. The township board formally resolved March 31 to oppose the construction of the facility anywhere in the community, following U-M's purchase of a 124-acre parcel on Textile Road.

Commonly cited concerns include economic, medical and national security risks to locals, particularly those in racial minority demographics, as well as the environmental impact.

"The University of Michigan is aware of Ypsilanti Township's recently passed resolution declaring opposition to 'Los Alamos National Laboratory siting a nuclear research facility anywhere in Ypsilanti Township,'" Paul Corliss, the assistant vice president for public affairs and internal communications at U-M, told The Eastern Echo in a written statement.

Corliss continued by saying, "As we have previously stated, the proposed facility is a high-performance computational research center designed to support advanced research in areas such as medicine, climate science, energy and national security. It is not a nuclear weapons facility and would not involve the storage or handling of hazardous materials. Further, the characterization of the yet-to-be-built facility as a 'Tier 1 High Value Target Risk' is not supported by facts."

The $1.25 billion research site planned for a 144-acre location on Textile Road has continued to be a point of contention between developers and local officials in Ypsilanti Township. Since 2024, the University of Michigan and the Los Alamos National Laboratory have made some details of their two planned computing facilities known, but Ypsilanti Township locals and officials have repeatedly said that there is not enough transparency.

"It started with a lie," Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo told The Echo. "Because they were simultaneously negotiating to purchase another additional 124 acres next to the property that's separated by a driveway that enters our South Hydro Park."

Google Strikes Deal with DTE for Potential Data Center in Van Buren Township

While the Saline Township data center contract faces controversy, Google has moved forward with its own proposal. The tech giant announced Tuesday that it has struck a deal with DTE Energy to deploy 2.7 gigawatts of electricity for a potential 1-gigawatt data center in Van Buren Township, near the Detroit Wayne International Airport.

DTE officials said the utility would deploy a mix of energy storage, renewable energy and grid-sourced power to serve Google. Google says no new fossil fuel energy plants would be built or expanded to serve the Van Buren Township facility.

"DTE officials vowed the deal would not raise rates for its 2.3 million electricity customers in southeast Michigan, saying Google would cover the cost of all new energy infrastructure needed to support the facility," Bridge Michigan reported.

Instead, company officials said that adding a large new customer to share in fixed costs of the energy system would "reduce pressure on bills" by $1.7 billion over the life of the contract.

"I applaud that commitment and its recognition of the significant strife caused by DTE, developer Related Companies, and the MPSC by their rushed, back-room deals and fast-tracked approvals over their Saline Township contracts," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement.

Google also said it has committed to spending $10 million on initiatives to drive down household energy bills in Michigan, including home weatherization and energy efficiency programs.

"Google announced it is 'evaluating' the 280-acre site west of the Detroit Wayne International Airport, bordered by Haggerty Road to the west and Interstates 94 and 275 to the south and east," Bridge Michigan reported.

The data center itself would be 1 gigawatt, DTE officials said. Google says no new fossil fuel energy plants would be built or expanded to serve the Van Buren Township facility.

DTE spokesperson Jill Wilmot said the utility will file the proposed 20-year contract Tuesday with the Michigan Public Service Commission, which would decide whether to approve it.

Oracle Data Center Nearing Massive Financing Deal

In other data center news, Oracle's Saline Township data center is nearing a $16 billion financing deal, Reuters reported. Pacific Investment Management Co. is in talks with the Bank of America to help provide roughly $14 billion of debt financing to build an Oracle data center in Michigan.

The project, part of the Stargate AI infrastructure initiative involving OpenAI, Oracle, and Related Digital, exceeds 1 gigawatt in capacity. Full construction began in February, with Blackstone contributing nearly $2 billion in equity and Bank of America leading roughly $14 billion in debt financing structured as a bond offering.

Wider Backlash Against Data Center Boom

The controversy in Michigan reflects a broader national backlash against the data center boom. The White House gathering of tech executives appeared to be a response to the backlash. On March 4 at the event, they signed onto the "Ratepayer Protection Pledge." The pledge itself has few specifics or teeth. It's a voluntary agreement by several prominent tech companies — including Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Amazon — to secure their own power for data centers, pay for any powerlines or other infrastructure that utilities may need to build to move that power, and hire locally from the communities they build in.

Several consumer and environmental advocates called the agreement "meaningless," "unenforceable," and ultimately, "nonsense."

The Michigan data center situation highlights the growing tension between rapid tech industry expansion and local communities trying to protect their ratepayers from hidden costs.