April 6, 2025 savethecampbell 0 Comment

Dear Board Members:

Thanks for agreeing to have the Campbell issue on the coming meeting of the Planning and Policy Committee. It should be a top priority of this Board to “Save The Campbell” and exercise local control over electric since MPSC-Consumers Energy has us on an unrealistic energy path, whereas we could instead be on a path that provides environmentally responsible, reliable electric at a lower price for County residents, and that does not sacrifice our valuable Michigan farmlands.

The County Board’s Campbell resolution noted the following: “the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners has the authority to “enter or to intervene in any action or certificate proceeding involving the services, charges or rates of any privately owned public utility furnishing services or commodities to rate payers within the County. (Article VII, Section 15 of the Constitution of the State of Michigan…”[1]

The Ottawa County Board has the constitutional authority to intervene regarding the Campbell given the MPSC and Consumers Energy are taking us in a direction that endangers our electric services and pricing. As you know, the preeminent experts on our regional grid, NERC and MISO, recommend closure delays to avoid undue risk to our grid.[2] Nor should we imagine that restarting the shut down Palisades plant to help replace the loss of Campbell is without huge challenges and risks, not to mention expense.[3] There is now huge demand for electric by AI data centers, and they would be willing to pay top dollar for Campbell’s reliable electric, enabling pricing reductions for County residents, at a time Consumers Energy customers have inordinately high pricing.[4] If there are concerns about a CO2 crisis now (a view I do not share), then direct air carbon capture is commercially available, so that CO2 emissions of the Campbell could effectively be negated.[5] There is simply no good reason to allow the Campbell closure in 2025.

The requested action items are these:

1. Ottawa County government seek assistance from the Trump Administration and legally intervene on behalf of the Campbell plant, consistent with President Trump’s executive order.

2. The Ottawa County Board, with the support of the Trump Administration, pass a public safety ordinance prohibiting the closure of the Campbell in 2025. The Michigan constitution gives our county Commissioners power to protect residents from a public utility that plans a project that will hurt the long-term welfare of its customers in service and pricing.

3. Initiate the process by which County citizens can decide if they want home rule county charter status (at least on a temporary basis) so that we can get complete local control of electric via electric cooperatives throughout the County, like some parts of the County already enjoy to great economic benefit.

4.Pray that God will give us wisdom and courage to avert a misguided energy agenda.

Thanks for considering this request to save the Campbell!

Sincerely,

Joseph Parnell McCarter

Georgetown Township, MI

Volunteer leader of SaveTheCampbell.com

[1] https://boards.miottawa.org/resolution/resolution-to-delayed-the-closing-of-the-consumers-energy-j-h-campbell-plant/

[2] https://americaspower.org/nerc-issues-an-urgent-warning-on-grid-reliability/#:~:text=The%20North%20American%20Electric%20Reliability,demand%20driven%20by%20data%20centers%2C

[3] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/22/michigan-nuclear-plant-shows-challenges-us-safely-restart-old-reactors-.html

[4] https://www.crn.com/news/data-center/2025/data-center-50-the-hottest-data-center-companies-of-2025?page=6

[5] See https://www.carboncapture.com/ for one example.