NEWS RELEASE
MICHIGAN HOUSE REPUBLICANS
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State Rep. Karl Bohnak on Tuesday announced key legislation to bolster energy production in the Upper Peninsula. His plan would exempt the U.P.’s 13 Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine (RICE) generators from sweeping green energy legislation passed in 2023. The RICE generators were built to stabilize the U.P.’s energy grid following the decommissioning of the Presque Isle and Shiras coal power plants in 2019. The generators are basically new and have a lifecycle through 2050. If nothing is done, the generators will be forced to shut down or change operations drastically before the new green energy laws take full effect.
“The whole reason I’m in Lansing and not enjoying an early retirement back home in Deerton is because I saw what state bureaucrats were doing to our way of life in the U.P. and I wasn’t going to stand for it,” said Bohnak, R-Deerton. “Take these RICE generators, which are a prime example of our state government’s lack of understanding of the unique situations we face north of the Mackinac Bridge. Folks spent a lot of money to develop a clean, reliable way for us to produce energy in the U.P. Politicians 400 miles away ignored those good-faith efforts and passed laws to effectively ban RICE generators. I’m serving in the Legislature to ensure our communities have the voice that’s been sorely missing for the past two years. We have a lot of work to do, but that job starts with saving our RICE generators and U.P. energy production.”
While calculations vary, those both for and against the new policies similarly claim the new energy laws could add tens of millions in additional costs for Upper Michigan Energy Resources customers if the RICE generators are taken offline. According to a recent MPSC report, RICE generators are a significant reason why the U.P. energy sector reduced its CO2 emissions by 71% from 2013 to 2022. Bohnak said his plan will protect the U.P.’s baseload energy supply and ensure that U.P. ratepayers have access to affordable and reliable energy.
State Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River, quickly announced his support for Bohnak’s plan. Prestin was a vocal opponent of the green energy mandates when they were forced through the Legislature in 2023.
“These generators went in place because there were serious concerns about the reliability of electric generation in the U.P., looming System Support Resource (SSR) charges that would have affected affordability, and the consequences to U.P. based mining operations. The U.P. has some of the highest energy rates in Michigan, and a lack of action would have killed jobs and put rate increases for homeowners and businesses on an unaffordable trajectory,” Prestin said. “Not even 10 years later, Lansing politicians have tried to move us backwards because natural gas requires a flame to generate electricity. Karl hit the nail on the head with this one. RICE generators produce clean and reliable energy for families across the U.P. They must remain operational.”
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