Michigan utility regulators deny request for attorneys to testify before House Energy Policy Committee

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) recently denied a request by House Energy Policy Committee chair Rep. Gary Glenn (R-District 98) for their attorneys to testify before the committee about a policy change.

The policy would require electricity choice providers that compete with Michigan’s two regional electricity monopolies to prove that they can meet customer demand with only electricity that is produced in Michigan. Glenn has said the policy would violate state and federal energy law and increase electricity rates for public schools and major employers.

The three attorneys assigned to counsel the MPSC advised the commission in a public letter not to adopt the policy. Glenn recently wrote
to those attorneys, requesting that they testify before the House Energy Policy Committee.

MPSC Chair Sally Talberg responded to the letter, saying that it would be “inappropriate” for the attorneys to appear before the committee and offered to testify herself.

In a letter responding to Talberg, Glenn called the move “stonewalling” and said he is “not interested in a shell game by which Public Service commissioners are obviously trying to avoid the embarrassment of explaining why they’re ignoring their own attorneys’ warning that an in-state generation requirement will drive up electricity rates and hurt electricity customers.”

He also noted that Talberg could not comment on a matter still pending before the commission. Testimony from the attorneys, Glenn said, would not be breaking attorney-client privilege because the attorneys’ letter of advice has already been made public.