Dear Members of the Utilities Committee:
I have been informed that your committee is where I need to send this request.
Our regional grid operator MISO is now being publicly explicit that electric generating plant closures need to be delayed or we will likely face power outages relating to unreliable electric in the coming years. The grid is simply not ready for the level of planned closures. Given new political and legal realities, the “Save The Campbell” effort is requesting Ottawa County citizens, political candidates, organizations, townships, and the county board to issue requests for delay of the closure of the Campbell plant, currently planned for 2025. The Campbell plant is an asset worth billions of dollars, works well, and already has over $1 billion in anti-polluting equipment invested in it in the last decade because it was previously planned to continue in operation to 2040.
An example request can be read at https://savethecampbell.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/request-to-delay-the-closure-of-Campbell-plant.pdf . Could the Township Board pass a resolution which would allow a request for delay be sent to the important parties involved, especially MISO, Consumer’s Energy, and the Michigan Public Service Commission?
The planned 2025 closure and demolition of the Campbell plant would be detrimental for Georgetown Township. As a resident here and leader in the “Save The Campbell” effort, I would ask the Township Board to take the lead among townships in Ottawa County in making a request for delay. Hopefully its example would encourage others to sign on to this request, and the request would be honored.
Even with this request it is important to keep the county charter option open as an important legal tool to prevent the precipitous plant demolition and other problems associated with the current State energy policy.
Thanks for your consideration of this request, and thanks for your public service to the community.
Sincerely,
Joseph Parnell McCarter