MESICK — Consumers Energy is telling the state that they don’t plan to budge on their plan to sell 13 hydroelectric dams to a Maryland-based company for $1 each.
Consumers also says that a regulator imposing any changes on the agreement could blow up the deal, leading to the likely decommissioning of the facilities.
Consumers Energy, which owns the Hodenpyl Dam, said as much in a state filing last week — they plan to “decommission” the dam and a dozen others if their proposed deal doesn’t go through as planned.
Consumers’ director of engineering said in the filing that “neither Confluence Hydro nor Consumers Energy is willing to renegotiate the proposed terms of the sale.”
That position is causing a stir for some residents who would be impacted by decommissioning.
“I hope they stay,” said David Clous, president of Mesick’s village council. “I hope the dams remain where they’re at and continue on for many, many more years.”
Clous says the decommissioning of the dams would leave utility customers and residents worse off.
“It’s not just affecting the site that the dam sits on — there’ll be hundreds of miles of river that will be affected,” he said. “Not just the local one here, but there are 13 scattered around the state, and I think it would be a devastating act if that were to happen. It should not happen.”
A spokesperson for Consumers Energy says in a statement that if the deal isn’t approved as originally proposed, “decommissioning is the next-most affordable option for our customers”
That spokesperson also says Consumers stands by their plan to offload the dams, arguing it provides the best path forward to the companies and the customers.
Howard Learner, executive director for the Environmental Law and Policy center, opposes the proposal.
“This is just a sucker’s deal,” he said. “It’s not good in terms of the economics, it’s not good in terms of the rivers. It’s not good in terms of the fisheries. It’s not good in terms of environmental and financial risks.”
The proposal also involves a 30-year agreement for Consumers to purchase electricity from the newly-sold dam’s owners.
Learner is also representing multiple conservation groups opposed to the sale of the dams.
“Let’s get all the parties together in the room without somebody saying ‘it’s my way or the highway,’ and really figure out what the real economics are, what the real repair costs and the engineering costs are for the dams,” he said. “How to have dam safety, how to protect the fisheries, how to protect the rivers.”