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Utility holding roundtable to talk about WE Energies

UPDATE, 2/17/15:  WE Energies spokesman Brian Manthey says last week his company asked the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to stop SSR payments, retroactive to February 1, if the mines agree to remain customers of the Presque Isle Power Plant until it’s sold. 

Manthey says if the mines do not agree to WE Energies’ proposal and switch to another power supplier in the next few months the Upper Peninsula will be back to square one when it comes to providing electrical service to its customers.   

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DAFTER, MI--   Cloverland Electric says it’s being forced to pay millions of dollars to WE Energies even after the Empire and Tilden mines’ return as customers of the Presque Isle Power Plant. 

Cloverland is holding a media roundtable in Lansing Tuesday at 11 a-m to discuss what it calls the utility’s “double-dipping.” 

After WE Energies lost the mines’ business last year U.P. utilities were ordered to pay extra under a System Support Resource Agreement, which would cover the plant’s operating budget and retrofitting costs.  Cloverland officials say WE Energies continues to collect under the SSR even though its biggest customers have returned. 

Cloverland serves 42,000 customers in five counties.  Officials say members could be paying about $2.3 million per month under the SSR until the plant is sold to Upper Peninsula Power Company later this year.  They say the financial burden may result in the closure of some Eastern U.P. businesses, which could be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more each month.  

Nicole was born near Detroit but has lived in the U.P. most of her life. She graduated from Marquette Senior High School and attended Michigan State and Northern Michigan Universities, graduating from NMU in 1993 with a degree in English.
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