BREAKING NEWS — Could Google’s massive Michigan data center drive up your electric bill? Attorney General Dana Nessel warns that DTE customers could face additional costs despite Google’s promise to pay its own way. State regulators defend the deal, while DTE projects $1.7 billion in long-term customer benefits. Now Nessel wants the agreement reconsidered.

LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is challenging a 20-year electricity agreement between DTE Energy and Google, warning that Michigan households and businesses could be forced to help pay the power costs of Google’s massive planned data center in Wayne County.

In an October 30 petition for rehearing, Nessel argues that the Michigan Public Service Commission failed to establish sufficient protections against shifting costs from Google to existing DTE customers.

The MPSC disputes that premise. It says its October 1 approval requires Google to pay the costs of serving its facility and includes safeguards for other customers.

At stake is whether Google’s payments will cover the full cost of supplying electricity to a data center expected to require approximately 1,000 megawatts of power.

What Michigan Customers Need To Know

  • Potential electric bill impact: Nessel argues that existing customers could subsidize Google’s electricity costs.
  • Years in dispute: The Attorney General identifies 2035 through 2038 as years when other customers could face net costs.
  • Google’s obligations: The 20-year contract includes minimum payments and financial protections if the project ends early.
  • DTE’s projection: The utility estimates $1.7 billion in benefits to other customers over 20 years.
  • Unanswered question: No verified estimate establishes how much, if anything, an individual customer’s bill would increase.

Nessel Challenges How Costs Are Calculated

Nessel’s central objection concerns the way DTE and the MPSC evaluate the financial impact of Google’s electricity agreement.

Under the approved approach, costs and benefits can be evaluated over the full 20-year contract.

Nessel argues this could allow years when other customers bear costs to be offset by projected benefits in later years.

Her October 30 announcement identifies 2035 through 2038 as a period when the financial projections anticipate net costs to existing customers.

The Attorney General wants costs and benefits reconciled annually, along with stronger financial guarantees.

She also challenges a cap on Google’s collateral obligations and raises concerns about transmission costs that she argues were not adequately accounted for.

These are disputed regulatory issues. The petition does not establish that customers have already been improperly charged for Google’s project.

MPSC Defends Customer Protections

The MPSC maintains that its approval includes safeguards specifically designed to prevent Google’s costs from being shifted to existing customers.

In its published explanation of the Google agreement, the commission says it will continue monitoring project costs and protect customers if the projected financial benefits do not materialize.

The approved contract includes several protections:

  • Google must pay for at least 80% of its contracted electricity demand, even if actual consumption is lower.
  • The agreement lasts 20 years, longer than the standard five-year arrangement for comparable large customers.
  • Early termination provisions require payments intended to recover project costs.
  • Financial collateral is required to address risks if Google ends operations prematurely.

MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said in the October 1 announcement that the protections would prevent other customers from subsidizing the data center.

However, Michigan Public reported October 30 that the commission declined to comment specifically on Nessel’s new petition.

DTE Projects $1.7 Billion In Benefits

DTE argues that attracting a major electricity customer can benefit the wider electrical system.

According to the MPSC, DTE projects approximately $1.7 billion in benefits for existing customers over the 20-year contract, partly because Google’s payments would help cover fixed costs shared by the utility’s customers.

In an October 2 statement reported by Local 4, DTE said Google would cover its own electricity costs while helping fund grid improvements and new clean-energy resources.

Those projections are central to the disagreement.

DTE expects long-term financial benefits. Nessel questions whether customers are sufficiently protected if those benefits arrive later than expected or fail to materialize.

The $1.7 billion estimate should not be interpreted as a guaranteed reduction in residential or commercial electricity bills.

Google Would Finance New Energy Resources

The agreement also requires Google to pay for new energy resources developed and operated by DTE.

The MPSC says the plan includes up to 1,600 megawatts of renewable energy generation and 480 megawatts of battery storage.

Google’s planned Van Buren Township data center is expected to begin receiving electricity in December 2027, with maximum demand anticipated by December 2028.

The size of that demand has intensified scrutiny of how Michigan utilities allocate the costs of serving major technology projects.

What Google Says — And Has Not Said

Google has not issued a verified public response to Nessel’s October 30 petition in the sources reviewed for this report.

Michigan Public reported that Google did not respond to its request for comment.

The company’s contractual commitments remain part of the public regulatory record, but those commitments do not resolve the Attorney General’s objections about annual costs and financial safeguards.

What Happens Next?

Nessel has asked the MPSC to reconsider its approval, impose stronger customer protections or reject the agreements.

The petition is part of MPSC Case U-22058.

No ruling on the October 30 rehearing request had been identified as of Sunday morning, November 1.

For Michigan households and businesses, the question remains whether Google’s electricity payments will fully protect existing customers throughout the contract—not merely produce a projected net benefit over 20 years.

MITechNews will continue following the regulatory challenge and any responses from DTE Energy, Google and the MPSC.