Michigan AG Nessel appeals approval of DTE's Saline data center contracts
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is appealing the Michigan Public Service Commission's approval of two DTE contracts for the Saline data center.
The contracts, approved in December 2025, would service a 1.4 gigawatt AI data center, which has received pushback from residents. Nessel is requesting a pullback on the approval to allow for a contested case hearing.
A case hearing would allow Nessel's office and environmental organizations to review the contracts, verify that DTE would not increase electric rates to existing customers, and verify ratepayer protections against collateral and exit fees for DTE and its customers should the data center fail to purchase the full projected amount of electricity, leave the state before the contract runs, or go bankrupt.
Nessel says she requested a contested case hearing a few months before the MPSC approval, and that it has never been publicly verified whether the contracts would not impose an increase on customers.
"I've sought a contested case review of these data center contracts since they were first filed in October, and the law requires one," Nessel said in a statement. "The Commission ignored our request. My office petitioned for rehearing, specifically challenging their application of ex parte process, and the Commission again ignored our plea. So now our only choice, to protect the state and utility customers from the worst hazards and liabilities these contracts pose, is to challenge the Commission's unlawful approval of these secret data center contracts in the courts."
At the time MPSC approved the contracts, it came with an agreement that the utility would be responsible for any costs associated with the development and operation of the data center. DTE also agreed to update its emergency procedures and interrupt or reduce the data center's load before interrupting services to residents and businesses in the event of an emergency.
DTE would undergo a minimum 19-year contract as opposed to the standard five-year agreement for new industrial customers of 1,000 megawatts or more.
MPSC released a statement, saying, "The Commission's conditional approval of these contracts included some of the strongest consumer protections in the country and is consistent with literally decades of applicable precedent. We look forward to vigorously defending these conditional approvals in order to realize the projected $300 million in affordability benefits for customers."
