State Rep. Parker Fairbairn on Tuesday announced his co-sponsorship of a plan to secure long-term, reliable energy production in the Upper Peninsula. The legislation would protect the U.P.’s 13 Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine (RICE) generators from looming shutdowns.

“The U.P. might as well be its own state when it comes to energy production,” said Fairbairn, R-Harbor Springs. “The continued operation of our RICE generators is one of the only things protecting U.P. residents from astronomically high energy bills.”

The RICE generators were built to stabilize the U.P.’s energy grid following the decommissioning of the Presque Isle and Shiras coal power plants in 2019 – then the largest energy producers in the U.P.

“When those coal plants went offline, the U.P. was essentially left without any of its own energy production,” said Fairbairn, who serves on the House Energy Committee. “Without the RICE generators, the U.P. would be entirely dependent upon out-of-state energy producers – and they don’t charge you less for being dependent upon them for all your energy.”

The RICE generators are basically new and have an expected lifecycle through 2050. If nothing is done, the generators will be forced to shut down or change operations drastically when the new green energy laws take full effect. While calculations vary, the RICE generators being taken offline could add tens of millions in additional costs for Upper Michigan Energy Resources customers.

Fairbairn said he was proud to support this energy package for the UP – introduced by state Reps. Karl Bohnak, R-Deerton, and Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River – to keep the RICE generators running through the end of their lifecycle.

Bohnak’s legislation, House Bill 4007, would protect the 13 RICE generators from sweeping green energy legislation passed in 2023.

Prestin’s legislation, HB 4283, would amend state law to reclassify the energy produced by the 13 RICE generators as renewable.

The bills remain in the House Energy Committee, awaiting a potential vote.

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