{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-13/dte-energy-nessel-google-data-center","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-13/dte-energy-nessel-google-data-center.md","title":"DTE Energy Faces Nessel Challenge Over Google Data Center","headline":"Michigan Attorney General Nessel Challenges DTE Energy's $1.7 Billion Google Data Center Benefit Claim","description":"Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office asked regulators to demand more cost details from DTE Energy and Google on a 1-gigawatt data center.","section":"Regulation & Approvals","published_at":"2026-11-13T05:49:25+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-13T05:49:25+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Nessel's office petitioned the Michigan Public Service Commission on Nov. 2 for more cost and financing details on DTE Energy's Google data center in Van Buren Township.","DTE Electric has told regulators the data center will produce a $1.7 billion benefit that reduces costs for other customers.","The Van Buren Township Planning Commission approved a final site plan on Oct. 14 for the 282-acre Project Cannoli, which will use about 1 gigawatt of power."],"companies":[{"name":"DTE Energy","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000d22/dte-energy","website":"http://www.dteenergy.com"},{"name":"ITC Holdings","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0005cls/itc-holdings","website":"http://www.itc-holdings.com"},{"name":"Google","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000r9/google","website":"https://www.google.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"Yahoo","title":"Nessel scrutinizes DTE plans for Google data center in Van Buren Twp.","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/nessel-scrutinizes-dte-plans-google-050228852.html"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Regulation & Approvals","DTE Energy","ITC Holdings","Google"],"body_markdown":"Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office asked state regulators to require [DTE Energy](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000d22/dte-energy) and [Google](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000r9/google) to disclose more cost and financing details for a 1-gigawatt data center in Van Buren Township, challenging DTE's $1.7 billion benefit claim. The petition for rehearing was filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission on Nov. 2, [Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/nessel-scrutinizes-dte-plans-google-050228852.html) reported.\n\n## Nessel's Petition Targets Cost Shifting\n\nNessel's office argued that without concrete numbers, project costs could be passed to ratepayers. The filing asked the commission to require a \"project-by-project\" breakdown of transmission costs from [ITC Holdings](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0005cls/itc-holdings) Corp. that were omitted from DTE's original cost-benefit model. It also sought stronger assurances from Google about which costs or stranded assets it would cover if the data center closed earlier than expected.\n\n\"The unintended consequence of these errors is the imposition of mistaken and unnecessary cost-shifting risks onto Michigan ratepayers,\" the filing said.\n\nDTE disputed the petition. \"Google will pay its own way, covering the full cost of powering its data center, so customers aren't left footing the bill,\" said Ryan Lowry, a spokesman for the Detroit-based utility. The commission declined comment.\n\nThe commission approved special contracts between DTE Electric and Google on Oct. 1, conditioned on protections against other customers bearing project costs. Those measures included a 20-year contract rather than a typical 5-year term, a minimum billing rate of 80% of contracted electric use, and an early termination payment covering at least 15 years of minimum monthly charges.\n\n## DTE's Google Agreement and Project Cannoli\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), DTE Energy is a Detroit-based regulated utility serving about 2.3 million electric and 1.4 million natural gas customers in Michigan. The records list a March 2026 Google agreement for the 1-gigawatt Van Buren Township data center, with Google committing to 2.7 gigawatts of new clean energy resources and a $10 million Energy Impact Fund for local communities.\n\nThe Van Buren Township Planning Commission approved a final site plan on Oct. 14 for the 282-acre development, dubbed Project Cannoli, east of Haggerty Road and north of the Interstate 94 North Service Drive. It will comprise five buildings, including three data processing buildings ranging from 87,000 to 300,000 square feet.\n\n## DTE's Recent Regulatory and Deal Activity\n\nIn November 2026, DTE Energy raised its five-year utility investment plan to about $44 billion, citing data center demand, Datacenterdynamics reported. The plan includes $39 billion for DTE Electric, with $23 billion for generation and 7.6 gigawatts of new solar and wind.\n\nAlso in November 2026, DTE and Consumers Energy filed a federal lawsuit to block Michigan's voter-approved ban on political donations from utilities, Yahoo reported. The law, added by Proposal 2 on Nov. 3, bars contributions to state and local candidates and party committees, with penalties up to tenfold.\n\n## What Comes Next at the Commission\n\nThe Michigan Public Service Commission has not set a date for acting on the petition for rehearing filed on Nov. 2.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}