U.P. Power Co-op Not Pleased With Recent Announcement

While most Upper Peninsula utilities were pleased with Tuesday’s announcement that large electric rate hikes may not be coming after all, the Cloverland Electric Co-op was not one of them.

The Co-op based in Dafter covers five counties on the eastern end of the U.P. (Chippewa, Mackinac, Schoolcraft, Delta and Luce), as well as the cities of Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace.

Cloverland CEO Dan Dasho says his co-op was not a part of the discussion leading to the governor’s announcement.

Dasho says that if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decides next month that “System Support Resource” payments still need to be paid to run Marquette’s Presque Isle Power Plant, then Cloverland members will be on the hook for two million dollars per month.

That would continue to be the case until Presque Isle is sold to the Upper Peninsula Power Company, which the governor said will happen in July. Dasho says that every month of delay costs a potential two million dollars, and he said that Tuesday’s announcement does not address the short-term problem facing Cloverland.