Whitmer Appointed All Three Members of Board That Approved Saline Data Center Over Local Opposition

LANSING, Mich. Saline Township voted 4 to 1 against a massive $16 billion AI data center, but the project moved forward anyway. Now questions are being raised about the Michigan Public Service Commission, the three member state board that approved the special energy contracts needed to power the project. All three current commissioners were appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Michigan law says the commission must consist of three members and that no more than two can belong to the same political party. That matters because critics say Whitmer has effectively placed control of one of Michigan's most powerful regulatory agencies in the hands of people closely tied to Democratic politics.

The controversy began after residents in Saline Township learned that a massive 1.4 gigawatt AI data center was planned for roughly 575 acres of farmland. The township planning commission rejected the rezoning request, and the township board then voted 4 to 1 against the project in September 2025. Residents protested the development, citing concerns about noise, traffic, farmland loss, energy demand, and the overall impact of such a massive industrial project on a rural community.

But the fight did not end with the local vote. Developers sued the township. Facing the possibility of a costly legal battle, township officials eventually agreed to a settlement allowing the project to move forward.

Then the Michigan Public Service Commission stepped in. In December 2025, the MPSC unanimously approved special DTE Energy contracts designed to supply power to the data center. The commission approved the contracts through an expedited process without holding a full contested case. That prevented residents, environmental groups, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel from fully intervening and challenging details of the agreements. The contracts themselves were also heavily redacted.

That decision has raised a larger question: Who exactly controls the commission making these decisions?

Michigan law, MCL 460.1, says the MPSC must have three members and no more than two can be members of the same political party. Whitmer appointed all three current commissioners.

Chairman Dan Scripps was appointed by Whitmer in 2019 and later named chairman. Scripps previously served as a Democratic member of the Michigan House.

Whitmer appointed Shaquila Myers in July 2025. Myers previously served as a senior advisor to Whitmer, chief of staff to Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate, and chief of staff to Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist. Whitmer's own announcement stated that Myers was appointed to represent Democrats.

The third commissioner, Katherine Peretick, was appointed by Whitmer in 2021 and is officially listed as an Independent. That designation is important because it technically keeps the commission within the legal two party limit. But politically, critics argue the distinction is much less clear. Peretick replaced a Republican commissioner, giving Whitmer appointees complete control of the board.

That same board later approved the power contracts for a data center Whitmer's administration had actively worked to bring to Michigan. The project's expected electricity demand is comparable to the output of a large power plant and could consume a significant share of DTE Energy's existing system capacity.

Whitmer was also personally involved in courting the companies behind the project. She met virtually with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2025 as state officials worked to bring the development to Michigan.

Attorney General Dana Nessel later challenged the MPSC's approval. In April 2026, Nessel appealed the commission's decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals, arguing the approval process was unlawful and questioning assurances that ordinary utility customers would not end up paying higher costs.

The controversy comes as Michigan residents are already dealing with major utility rate increases. The MPSC approved a $242.4 million rate increase for DTE Energy in early 2026. It also approved a $276.6 million increase for Consumers Energy, raising residential electric rates by nearly 9 percent. According to the Attorney General's office, Consumers Energy has received nearly $800 million in annual revenue increases approved by the commission since 2020.

Despite the local opposition in Saline Township, Whitmer appeared at the project's groundbreaking in June 2026 alongside executives connected to Oracle and OpenAI. She praised the development as an economic victory for Michigan.

Whitmer has since introduced an Affordable and Responsible Growth Action Plan aimed at addressing concerns about large data centers and electricity costs. The plan asks data center companies to voluntarily pledge that residential customers will not be forced to subsidize their electricity use. But the pledge is voluntary.

The Saline Township controversy now goes far beyond one data center. A local government voted no. Developers sued. The township eventually gave in. Then a state commission made up entirely of Whitmer appointees approved the power agreements needed to move the project forward.

The question now is whether Michigan's regulatory system protected the public and local communities, or whether the people making the decisions had already decided where this project was going before residents ever had a meaningful say.