“We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
Our national electric grid is under intense pressure, with reliable generating capacity not keeping up with rising demand, such as from data centers. If we have learned anything these last several years, it is that we cannot trust the electric utility monopoly Consumers Energy and its regulator MPSC to take care of our local interest. They wanted to close and demolish our reliable Campbell plant in 2025, despite electric grid circumstances. Consumers Energy is requesting not only the largest rate increase in decades, but also for customers to pay special charges to keep Campbell open, rather than evaluating their own misguided energy policy. They favor imposing on townships like Blendon a dangerous lithium ion battery plant using PA 233, even though there are better ways to manage our grid, as we have for years.
Three cities (Zeeland, Grand Haven and Holland) in Ottawa County have shown locally controlled electric can work well, but even they are not immune from national grid challenges. They each depend on wholesale market purchases of electric at a time that market is increasingly stressed.
The municipalities of Ottawa County need to unite around having locally controlled electric throughout the county, with locally controlled baseload generating capacity sufficient to meet county electric demand, and even be able to export excess. The three cities can keep their own electric utility organizations, while the rest of the county currently with Consumers Energy can be with a locally controlled electric cooperative. All of these can and should then work together to make sure we all have a sound local grid that meets our electric needs and helps us thrive.