Google will tell you that Voices for Cooperative Power (VCP) is a network of electric cooperative members working together to influence energy policy that impacts our co-ops and way of life. I will tell you that VCP is a new and innovative way to get electric cooperative members (the grassroots) engaged through email, the internet, and social media in order to provide input to elected and governmental officials on local, regional, and national issues.
In June, members saw an email from Cherryland or a Facebook post that asked for assistance in lobbying the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), state legislators, and the governor. You helped us ask them to prevent the premature closure of the Campbell coal plant owned by Consumers Energy.
Cherryland explained our concern about the possibility of rolling blackouts this summer and in future summers. The ask was simply to build replacement generation before shutting off more 24/7/365 generation. It was all about keeping the lights on, which has been this cooperative’s mission since 1938.
I am happy to report that Cherryland members answered the call along with members of several other Michigan electric cooperatives. Almost 8,000 individuals generated a total of 44,282 emails to the commission, state representatives, state senators, and the governor. It was the largest response in the early life of the national VCP grassroots machine.
Sadly, on June 23, 2022, the MPSC granted Consumers Energy the ability to shut down the coal plant well before its time. Even though they had two reports from regional and national grid oversight organizations warning of rolling blackouts AND the tens of thousands of emails in their inboxes, commissioners went with the “promise” of future generation rather than steel in the ground, present day resources.
In defeat, I am proud of the cooperative members across the state for taking action on such a large scale. We proved that the grassroots could be mobilized quickly and in meaningful numbers. Members clearly demonstrated trust and support in their local electric cooperative. We can now stand “on the record” as we move further into this period of declining generation and increasing demand.
Legislators did call the chair of the MPSC into a hearing to discuss reliability concerns. This would not have happened without the VCP campaign. The issue of declining generation is now on the public record thanks to electric cooperative members who cared enough to take action.
As I write this in July, there hasn’t been a rolling blackout. Temperatures have been such that the threats have been minimal. As I write this, no additional generation has been built either. This makes future summers as tenuous as the summer of 2022.
Everyone at Cherryland takes pride in keeping your lights on and being there when members need us the most. We also take pride in the fact that members often don’t need to be concerned about the reliability of their electric service. Our job is to go unnoticed while the people we serve go about life, not thinking about the lights staying on.
When there was a need for members to pay attention and care about their reliability, members responded in a big way. We were a united team working for the most important goal —reliability. Today, I thank every member who answered the call when we needed you the most.
Thank you for the update, even with the not so good news!
I took the time to complete the survey. What good are grass roots efforts if they come to nothing but politicians heaving their weight around and closing the coal plants. This is why more people are disengaging from political processes in this and other countries. If grass roots voices count for nothing then apathy sets in, as it has. The current “climate effects” of politicians and bureaucrats is far worse the environmental climate change.
I feel your disappointment. I chose to keep trying. Quitting just isn’t an option. While we did win this one, we did show that we can bring numbers to the table. I am hopeful that this will make someone in Lansing think twice on this topic or any other in the future. Politics is a marathon. We have to be ready. Thank you for the support. Please know it is not taken for granted.
Coal plants are closing across the country because of cost, and moving away from coal is best for all of us in the long term because of its outsize influence on the climate. Cherryland should be pursuing all options for renewable electricity generation even if we have to pay more now, as an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Cherryland and our power supplier, Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, have been pursuing all options for renewables for almost 20 years now. We have a renewable portfolio at 20% and a total carbon free portfolio of over 60%. Keeping this coal plant open (temporarily) is all about keeping the lights on across Michigan. For us, reliability of electricity is our first priority. A blackout will harm many people. Nobody should want that. We are in a time in our history where we have to balance all forms of energy. There is not one silver bullet for power supply. Never has been, never will be.
That’s good but climate change poses a threat that demands major changes in our energy sources. Hopefully readers understand that the large percentage of carbon free electricity is because of an aging nuclear power plant that will also close sooner or later… https://cherrylandelectric.coop/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CherrylandFuelMix_May2022.jpg
Understood. Those who want to save the planet are those who support nuclear – new or old. Absolutely no way to get to zero carbon without nuclear. No way.
Seemed the message was to have the replacement in the works before shutting off the plant. Otherwise Cherryland would have to have rolling outages to cover Consumers customers.
Tony, casually reading this article gives me the impression that politicians are shutting down a coal plant. On of the previous comments even states that explicitly and you did not correct him. But I noticed a subtle point in your article that changes everything: “the MPSC granted Consumers Energy the ability to shut down the coal plant.” This says just the opposite! It appears that instead of shutting down coal a coal plant, the government had been forcing it to stay open and now they are giving the power company authority to make their own business decisions.
Can you clarify with is really true here? I’m feeling a little confused.
Roger, I never meant to give anyone the impression that politicians are shutting down a coal plant. I meant to give the impression that politicians could stop the closure. Yes, Consumers is making their own decision. I just believe that they should have adequate replacement power installed and operating before such a closure. There have been many coal plant and nuclear closures from various utilities over the past decade. We have not built enough replacement power. The excess generation on the grid that has supported such closures over the years is no longer there. To keep the lights on in the future (or next year), we need to build generation or keep the generation that we have in operation. Obviously, it is far easier to keep existing generation than it is to build new generation.
To keep the lights on for the future ( or next year)… is, to me a terrifying statement to read.
I’m your average neighbor, almost 63 years old, have beloved family and friends…
I’d be thankful for some advice on some affordable alternatives and options to keep my family safe, warm and healthy.
Could you please feature an article, in depth, with recommendations, realistically, outlining what we should have in preparation in case of blackout?
Generators? Solar systems?
If the worst happens, it will be a two hour outage for you. Then, we will roll over to another section of the service territory. Today, I don’t think it is practical or necessary for every member to have a backup source. We will have warning and have plans in place to minimize the inconvenience.
Tony, thanks for the update. This is a tough one.
The choice between reliability and coal is not so simple. Clearly, we need generation when the sun is not shining, and the wind is not blowing. But if we require replacement generation (available 24/7) before shutting the even worst of carbon polluters, we’re locking ourselves into fossil fuel — and a frightening future. Nuclear might be great, but has its own issues… Practically, we’ll be waiting a long time for any new nuclear generation.
Meanwhile we can see the impact of global warming is not waiting. 116 degrees in Fresno. Catastrophic flooding in the SE. Drought in the west. Wildfires at Christmas. British Columbia was a temperate rain forest, now burning. The great barrier reef is all but dead. All this and more and we’re only at 1 degree warming!
My own view is we need to think more about “resiliency”, and less about 100% reliability. How to recover quickly when inevitably the bad thing happens. We need to learn to use power when clean power is available, and not when not. Energy storage is key. Storage (utility scale and distributed) and demand response (distributed) resources, are areas utilities can and need to focus on.
I’m with Steve on this one. Consumers is making the right decision.