LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – U.P. lawmakers are one step closer to saving the natural gas generators in Marquette and Baraga counties. Representatives passed two bills Wednesday that create cutouts in Michigan energy laws for the natural gas units in the U.P.
The Upper Peninsula is powered by 13 Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines, or RICE units. Under current laws, the units will be phased out in the coming years and replaced with cleaner generators.
The laws that cut short the lifespans of the units were passed in 2023. As soon as they were introduced, Representative Dave Prestin raised red flags about the cost to the U.P. Two years later, he and Rep. Karl Bohnak passed bills in the state House to carve out the 13 units and keep them running through their original projected lifespan of 2050.
“What we need is we need time, we need time to be able to adapt, we need time to possibly jump technologies,” Prestin said. “I think there are a lot of things for the up that this accommodation in time will give us the ability to not have to change the legislation, but be more able to work with it.”
Upper Peninsula utilities anticipate that under the current legislation, the units would be shut down, and they would be on the hook for billion-dollar renewable replacements. Prestin says the cost would force them to add a surcharge on electricity, doubling utility costs for Yoopers.
Those increases could also impact large companies in the U.P., like the mines and the Billerud Mill. It’s estimated that the largest user of electric power in the Upper Peninsula, Cleveland Cliffs, will be assessed to surcharge starting in 2027 of over $1,000,000 per month. ClevelandCliffs is also one of the largest employers in the peninsula, providing around a thousand jobs for steel workers like Michael Grondz.
“This is a lot more than just jobs. This is small business, this is our seniors, this is our families, this is going to affect every single one of us,” Grondz said. “The sad truth of it is, if our mines are to go away, we’ll start to look for other sources. Society will still find the materials at a much higher environmental and human cost than what we do here. We do it better in the United States and specifically in Michigan than anybody in the world.”
The lawmakers said keeping the units running will keep utility costs manageable, to keep businesses running and retain population, but that they are still committed to finding a solution that will replace the units at the end of their life.
The bills passed in the House with bipartisan support and are on their way to the Senate for further consideration.
