State Rep. Dave Prestin today championed the House passage of significant energy reforms that refocus the state on affordable and reliable energy generation and reverse the harmful green energy mandates from 2023.

“The U.P. was not fooled by the awful green energy plan that was signed into law 3 years ago. Rising energy bills and forced transition to unreliable energy sources we’re seeing today is just the tip of iceberg,” said Prestin, R-Cedar River. “Our House energy plan reverses the shortsighted, broken policies that were forced on us, gets politics out of our energy grid, and sets a clear path toward restoring affordable and reliable energy production.”

The House energy plan reforms the broken decision-making process behind Michigan’s energy regulation by requiring the Michigan Public Service Commission to focus on cost and affordability above all else, setting aside the politicization of energy generation that dominates these decisions today.

“For years, I’ve watched the MPSC become more and more politicized as they’ve fallen away from their true responsibilities,” Prestin said. “Our plan brings the MPSC back to reality and refocuses them back to their core mission: addressing and protecting reliable and affordable energy for Michigan residents.”

The legislation also shuts down a political scheme that allowed regulators to funnel money from utility bills to advocacy groups and lobbyists that wage legal wars that drive consumer costs even higher.

“The fact that a portion of our energy bills are being secretly funneled to Lansing to bankroll political activists is unacceptable,” Prestin said. “Our energy bills should be paying for our energy – generation, transmission and distribution, and utilization – not the pipe dream of some environmentalist college student. Judicial warfare has real and dangerous effects on our energy bills, but I guess that doesn’t matter to the activists trying to turn the U.P. into a state park. I won’t allow them to do that on my watch.”

The House energy plan now moves to the state Senate for further consideration.

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