Do you remember playing musical chairs as a kid? I do. I was never particularly fast or strategic, but I was scrappy. I often succeeded for a while in the game but eventually ended up standing when the music stopped. The brutality of musical chairs is that more kids lost than won.
That game is fun when you’re 6. But when it’s about powering Michigan’s economy, it’s not so fun anymore.
Right now, our state is in the early rounds of a much bigger game of musical chairs, only instead of chairs, we’re talking about gigawatts. Michigan’s electricity demand currently hovers around 20 gigawatts. But over the next decade, that number could climb by 50%. Data centers are moving in, manufacturers are coming home, and economic growth is creating more “players” in the circle. The trouble is, we’re not adding enough chairs to match.
For now, most people are still sitting comfortably. Lights turn on. Air conditioners hum. But if we don’t act soon, the music will stop, and someone will be left standing. And the first one out is likely to be the new businesses or investors looking to bring their operations to Michigan.
This isn’t an emergency, but it is a moment to plan with urgency and build with purpose. And that was the message I left our legislators with on a recent trip to Washington, D.C.
Adding new generation, including power plants, renewables, and storage, is a big piece of the puzzle. So is maintaining the plants we already have, like the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, which is being restarted to help keep the lights on in Michigan.
But even when we want to build smart, we often face tremendous hurdles. In the past 25 years, power plant project timelines have grown from 10 months to 10 years. Why? Exhaustive permitting requirements and a never-ending queue for grid interconnection approval.
Let me be clear, I fully support environmental stewardship and thoughtful planning for the electric grid. However, the current process isn’t working. It’s outdated and slow, and projects often get stuck in a never-ending cycle of litigation and analysis. It’s basically like playing musical chairs but the music never stops. And chairs never get added.
Cherryland is working closely with our legislators to support environmentally responsible permitting reform at the federal level. Our partners at Wolverine Power Cooperative are advocating for changes to the backlogged power plant interconnection approvals. You can help, too. Please remind state and local leaders that grid resiliency and power supply adequacy aren’t child’s play; when it comes to keeping the lights on in Michigan, we all have something at stake.
At the end of the day, no one wants to be left standing when the music stops. And in Michigan, we don’t have to be. Especially if we plan ahead, build wisely, and clear the way for the infrastructure we need. This isn’t about hitting the panic button. It’s about pulling up more chairs, setting the circle a little wider, and making sure everyone—families, businesses, and future investors—has a seat when the energy future arrives.
So when I call your office tell them my electric use is suddenly 30 to 40 percent more than it was the previous 2 years and nothing has changed. In fact I have replaced all incandescent bulbs with LED. I ask that my metering needs to be checked. Instead I get some woman coming over to my house and tried to blame it on the fresh air system that has been in the house since it was built in 2016. Why can I not get a tech to come out and test the accuracy of my metering?
Hi David,
I spoke with our energy use advisor about your concerns. There are a lot of things in a home that can cause an unexpected increase in electric use, and we often start with an energy assessment to get a better understanding of what factors may or may not be causing that increase. It’s an important part of assessing the big picture and we’re fortunate to have staff available to do that at no cost for our members. It sounds like we’ve taken some steps to explore potential causes so we can certainly test your meter for accuracy, and I’ll have our team reach out to get a time scheduled.
I have been concerned about the decline of electric generating capacity in Michigan for years. Consumers Energy and DTE have made decisions to close major power plants in recent years. B.C. Cobb in Muskegon; Weadock in Bay City; Monroe (next 2-4 years); J.H. Campbell in Ottawa County (although President Trump has ordered it to remain operable); Palisades nuclear plant.
Our state government is pushing the closure of all coal-fired plants despite the fact that there is clean coal technology available. And the boards of the investor-owned power companies seem happy to roll over and give up.
With this trend, Michigan will not have the electricity to power a return to a position as a major manufacturing state. Agriculture and tourism will not provide the prosperity. Young people are already leaving the state in droves. A decline in energy production precedes a decline in wealth and prosperity of the populace.
Scott – you hit the nail on the head. We can’t grow our economy without adequate energy resources. The co-op is in good shape with our commitment to Palisades nuclear plant, but Michigan still needs to build and maintain electric generating resources that can backfill the gap left with the retirement of the coal plants you’ve mentioned.
I did my part with solar panels and a battery sorage. On those hot summer days when damand peaks because everyone’s cranking up their air conditioners, I’m powering my A/C and everything else in my house directly from the sun.