Michigan Regulators To Host Public Hearing On DTE Contracts For Saline Township Data Center

Michigan Advance

Novemebr 18, 2025

Following up on a request by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, the regulatory body overseeing Michigan energy companies announced on Tuesday that it would hold a public hearing to take comments on DTE Electric Co.’s application to approve contracts to supply power to a data center project in Saline Township.

The Michigan Public Service Commission will hold the hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 3, between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Microsoft Teams. Participants can join through the meeting’s Microsoft Teams link or by dialing 1-248-509-0316 and entering the conference ID 593258092# when prompted.

DTE filed an ex parte request with the commission on Oct. 31, seeking the commission’s approval to provide 1.4 gigawatts of power to a data center announced a day earlier. The project is being developed in Saline Township by Oracle, Chat GPT creator OpenAI and Related Digital following a legal battle between Related Digital and the host community over the township board’s vote against rezoning the land for the project.

On Nov. 6, Nessel filed a notice with the public service commission, asking the regulatory body to take public testimony on the matter and to treat the matter as a contested case, as the type of request DTE filed does not carry public hearing requirements.

While Dan Scripps, the chair of the public service commission, said the hearing will add an important element of transparency in evaluating DTE’s request and ensuring costs from the project are not borne by other ratepayers, Nessel argued the commission has failed to allow for meaningful intervention and review of the contracts.

“Without formal hearings and a contested case declaration, this alone would amount to little more than performative listening rather than thorough public scrutiny,” Nessel said in a statement. “I am concerned that the [commission] has yet to respond to my request to intervene and hold true hearings, and I am fearful that today’s announcement signals they have no intention to hold the formal hearings our residents and ratepayers deserve. To protect Michiganders in this crucial moment, we must demand a full, formal contested case, where parties can issue discovery demands, submit informed expert testimony, and create a record of evidence upon which the MPSC, and everyone across the State, can fairly evaluate these contracts.”

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