Michigan approves the power contracts for a Google data center

The Michigan Public Service Commission on 1 October 2026 approved the contracts under which DTE Electric would serve a Google data center in Van Buren Township, Wayne County (Case No. U-22058).

The supply agreement runs 20 years, longer than DTE’s usual five-year large-load term. Google’s minimum bill is 80 percent of contracted use, and walking away early still requires at least 15 years of those minimum charges. A second agreement requires Google to pay DTE to build up to 1,600 MW of renewable generation and 480 MW of batteries. DTE said it expects the data center to start taking power in December 2027 and to hit maximum load by December 2028.

The Commission was explicit about what it did not decide: it has no authority over whether or where a data center is built. The order is the utility contract, with conditions meant to keep the cost off other customers.

Why it sits on the AI map: a mapped cloud company now has an approved power path for a named US site, with the generation build assigned to the customer. That is a step toward plugging in. It is not power flowing, and the release never states the data center’s own load in megawatts. The 1,600 MW figure is new renewable supply, not IT load.

Limits: DTE’s expectation on dates; no IT-load megawatt figure; a $1.7 billion benefit cited in the release is DTE’s contention, not a Commission finding. No thesis-row status change. On the map, Google moves from no targeting signal to green. Nothing turns red.

What would change the picture: Google or DTE stating the contracted or expected IT load; a construction or in-service update; or a rehearing that changes the minimum-bill or resource terms.