Michigan Public Service Commission stays silent on data center debate

More than 150 people attended a Michigan Public Service Commission meeting on March 13, 2026, but they left without any answers from the commissioners on how the state plans to handle data centers in their community. The meeting comes months after the MPSC's decision to approve the construction of a $7 billion data center in Saline Township, being built by Oracle, Related Digital, and DTE Energy. Resident Eric Greene criticized the MPSC's silence on the data center debate since approving the project, saying "Saline is a nightmare right now" and accusing the MPSC of signing "shady" non-disclosure agreements with DTE to view the company's contracts with AI companies. Despite Greene's insistence that the commissioners discuss the data centers, the topic did not appear on the meeting agenda. Instead, the commissioners focused on updates to extreme weather policies and other unrelated topics. MPSC spokesperson Matt Helms said the agenda is determined by utility companies filing cases, not the commissioners themselves. The next MPSC meeting is scheduled for March 27, but its agenda has not yet been released.