A proposal by Michigan utility Consumers Energy to sell its fleet of hydroelectric dams in the state to a private equity company would impose “unacceptable safety and financial risks,” Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wrote Thursday in a letter to state regulators.
Whitmer, who is term-limited and can’t seek reelection this fall, said in the letter that she can’t support the deal without conditions to address those risks, and she urged the Public Service Commission to reject it next month when it’s set to issue a ruling.
It is the first time Whitmer has weighed in on the sale proposed last year by Consumers Energy, the state’s second-largest utility, to Confluence Hydro, which is owned by Maryland private equity firm Hull Street Energy. The letter comes two months after an administrative law judge also recommended the sale be rejected.
Consumers Energy has grappled for years with what to do with 13 aging, uneconomic hydro dams. A sale to private owners is seen by some as the best solution, and less costly than decommissioning.
