Joseph Parnell McCarter, Georgetown Township, volunteer leader of SaveTheCampbell effort.
In the 1st Round of Campbell Resolutions seven township boards passed a request for Campbell closure delay, as did the Ottawa County Board, they were forwarded to the Trump Administration, and it executed the delay. Consumers Energy has consented to keep Campbell open as long as required by the Trump Administration, but no longer.
In the 2nd Round of Campbell Resolutions, seven township boards- including Georgetown, Zeeland Township, and others- have passed them already and we are getting positive indications from others. This 2nd Round establishes a committee of township representatives to explore the replacement of Consumers Energy in Ottawa County with our own locally controlled electric cooperative, seeking the assistance of the Trump Administration, and perhaps partnering with an AI data center to use a portion of the Campbell’s electric to help with financing and residential rate reductions. Zeeland’s Electric Cooperative has shown a locally controlled electric cooperative can be successfully run at half the price of Consumers Energy residential rates. Grand Haven, Holland, and Great Lakes Electric Cooperative are also successful area examples.
The CEO of North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC), the premier organization for grid monitoring, says we have a “five alarm fire” situation with our grid, because generating capacity is not keeping up with demand. We are adding energy intensive data centers which require electric 24/7, but using unreliable solar/wind/battery to fill much of the gap. It not only does not provide reliable electric, but it also wastes our valuable farmlands, and imposes dangerous lithium ion battery plants on unwilling communities like Blendon Township, using Michigan PA 233 to impose it. This Consumers Energy direction is also making electric very expensive for residents: Consumers Energy is asking for the highest rate increase in decades, irrespective of the Campbell.
The “Save The Campbell” plan to replace Consumers Energy with a locally controlled electric cooperative in Ottawa County can be an effective strategy to thwart the misguided Net Zero agenda and to make sure AI data centers only go in if they make sense for local residents and do not hurt the reliability of our grid. Now is the window of opportunity to pursue this while we can get Trump Administration assistance.
I have handed you the 2nd Round of Campbell Resolutions for your review. Please consider placing them on your agenda and passing them like seven other township boards have already done, and more are expected. It is a matter of good due diligence to gather information using the exploratory committee.