Michigan officials have announced that six technology and data-center companies had signed a pledge to bear electric-system costs directly attributable to their projects. The pledge is separate from Public Service Commission-approved tariffs, contracts and orders that contain the detailed payment terms.
Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and Verrus signed the Michigan Affordability and Responsible Growth Pledge. The signatories committed to pay for generation, grid upgrades, energy and water infrastructure, secure additional power where needed, comply with environmental permitting and public-engagement requirements and make disclosures required through regulatory and permitting processes.
The pledge states, “We will sign long-term energy service agreements with utilities,” and says signatories will pay for minimum generation capacity when actual use falls below contracted levels.
The commitments arrive as a June 2026 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report estimates data centers could account for 11.8% of U.S. electricity use by 2030, with scenarios ranging from 9.5% to 15.3%.
Pledge lacks enforcement mechanisms
The two-page pledge contains no stated enforcement or penalty provisions. Michigan’s detailed financial protections sit in Public Service Commission-approved tariffs and contracts, while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has asked lawmakers to put similar requirements in state law.
Contract terms for Consumers Energy
For new Consumers Energy customers with expected demand of at least 100 MW, including qualifying groups of commonly owned facilities that collectively reach that threshold, the commission approved a 15-year minimum contract and billing based on at least 80% of reserved capacity.
Early departure triggers an exit fee tied to the minimum monthly bill and remaining term. Default collateral equals half of the fee, and Consumers must file a separate ex parte case for each qualifying customer and demonstrate that the arrangement will not cause other customer classes to subsidize the new load.
DTE contracts contain additional safeguards
For Green Chile Ventures’ planned 1,383 MW Saline Township data center, the commission conditionally approved two contracts with DTE Electric, the regulated utility subsidiary of DTE Energy.
The primary supply agreement has a 19-year term, minimum billing based on 80% of contracted demand and a termination payment calculated using up to 10 years of minimum demand.
Under the commission’s conditions, DTE is responsible for costs it cannot recover from Green Chile Ventures rather than passing them to other customers. DTE must reduce or interrupt the facility’s load before shedding other customers during an emergency, while Green Chile must fund 1,383 MW of energy storage over 15 years.
Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Dan Scripps described the terms as “strong protections for ratepayers against the risk of stranded costs and cost subsidization.”
Attorney general challenges DTE approvals
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed appeals in April against the commission orders approving the DTE contracts, arguing the commission should have conducted a contested case rather than use an ex parte process.
“I’ve sought a contested case review of these data center contracts since they were first filed in October, and the law requires one,” Nessel said.
Her office also argued that DTE’s promise that aggregate revenue over the contract would cover service costs might still permit near-term cost shifting. The commission rejected requests to reopen the case in March, saying the petitioners had not identified errors, new evidence or changed circumstances sufficient under its rules.
State lawmakers weigh new requirements
Senate Bill 1047 would require 20-year contracts and minimum billing based on at least 90% of contracted demand. House Bill 6135 proposes a separate large-load rate structure with contracts lasting at least 15 years. Both bills would add statutory requirements alongside the utility terms already approved by the commission.