The Consumers Energy monopoly is significantly jacking up prices, with much more to come. They are also devoting more than 90% of new capital expenditures to the expensive misguided Net Zero agenda which is also wasting our county farmlands on solar and battery. Right now, most Ottawa County residents are helpless bystanders to all this.
But this does not have to be the case! There is an exploratory committee represented by many county township boards which is exploring a locally controlled electric cooperative. More township boards and the Ottawa County Board should join this effort. We already have examples in the county of locally controlled electric, and there is no good reason not to extend it to the rest of the county.
Such a locally elected electric cooperative board could force Consumers Energy to compete with other companies which could provide the same service for the electric cooperative board, as well as compete with the option of hiring its own professional managers and personnel to run it.
The electric cooperative board could have one elected board member from each participating township, and several at large board members. All could have equal votes on the board. The RUS (Rural Utilities Service) of the Federal Government provides loans by which the electric cooperative board could purchase the distribution grid from Consumers Energy. Alternatively, the electric cooperative board could negotiate a long-term capital lease with Consumers Energy for its distribution grid assets. Regarding its Campbell plant, the electric cooperative board could seek a loan from the Department of Energy, and contract with a co-located data center to help with the financing. The latter is an idea we learned from President Trump and the Trump Administration, so hopefully they will be willing to help us do what they have been promoting. Such a data center could pay a premium for the electric, so that residential rates can be reduced.
Hopefully the Ottawa County Board and more township boards will join us in this effort, just as they did in passing resolutions to delay closure of the Campbell, to good effect with the needed help from the Trump Administration.