Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. v. Michigan Public Service Commission (In re Application of Consumers Energy for Approval of an Integrated Resource Plan)

The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the Michigan Public Service Commission’s (MPSC’s) approval of a settlement agreement for a utility’s integrated resource plan that required retirement of a coal-fired electricity-generating facility in 2025 rather than the originally planned retirement date of 2039. The court found that a joint owner of the facility failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that the approval was unlawful or unreasonable. The court rejected the owner’s argument that the MPSC “improperly prioritized reducing carbon emissions over reasonable timing to ensure reliable energy.” The court noted that the statutory scheme “envisions balancing various criteria” but that “no particular such balance must itself necessarily constitute the one best approach for satisfying” statutory requirements. The court was not persuaded by arguments that an administrative law judge’s initial disapproval of the early retirement plan should be dispositive, that the plan was based on insufficient modeling, or that MPSC staff changed its position arbitrarily.