MARQUETTE, MI-- Not everyone is happy about energy legislation pushed through the legislature late last week that awaits Governor Rick Snyder’s signature.
Nearly all Upper Peninsula lawmakers voted against the bills, saying it didn’t guarantee reliable and affordable power for the U.P. Republican Representative Ed McBroom offered an amendment that would have considered ways to provide energy to the U.P. without relying on Wisconsin, but the amendment failed.
Democratic Representative John Kivela said, “Too many of our colleagues from below the bridge did not believe the new Michigan energy plan needed to benefit all parts of the state.”
Cloverland Electric Cooperative President and CEO Dan Dasho says long-range planning for generation and transmission in the U.P. was removed in the final version of the energy bill. He says the administration needs to conduct a thorough study of the infrastructure needs of the entire Upper Peninsula.
