Thirteen dams along the Au Sable, Manistee, Muskegon, Grand, and Kalamazoo rivers – may be up for sale soon.
The hydro-operating licenses for the dams, owned by Consumers Energy, will expire in the next decade. The company said it’s still reckoning with the dams' future, but will take request-for-proposals (RFPs) for the dams to be sold as a package.
Norm Kapala is the vice president of generation operations for Consumers. He said the hydro-fleet only contributes 1% to the company’s energy profile, but the cost of maintaining the dams is high.
“Our goal through the entire hydro strategy process is to really find this solution that keeps our rates affordable for our customers, and if possible, keep the reservoirs that we know have huge community and recreational impact across our state,” Kapala said.
Kapala said no formal decision - on whether to renew the licenses, remove or sell the dams – has been made yet. He said asking for RFPs at this time is to scope out interest from potential buyers.
The company plans to have bids by next March, but has not yet announced what the minimum bid for the 13 dams would be.
Consumers will be hosting public meetings in 10 communities beginning at the end of August through November.
A Consumers-funded study assessing the community economic impacts of the dams is still ongoing and will be published this fall.
