U.P. Politician opposes energy bill

LANSING — There’s a bill currently making its way through the state house that does not have the support of one Upper Peninsula politician.

According to State Representative Scott Dianda, House Bill 4575 would have some of the U.P.’s power generated in the Lower Peninsula. Dianda is concerned about what the costs of this potential project and how much electric bills would rise for people in the U.P.

“If we look at projects of bridging between the Lower and Upper Peninsula, I want to know what it’s going to cost my people and how long it is going to take to pay that price back,” said Dianda about the bill. “Some of these things just don’t make sense right now because you don’t have a good aspect of what those costs are going to be.”

“We cannot vote for things that we don’t know what the costs are,” he added. “No one goes out and gets a big purchase without realizing what the cost is.”

While Dianda is opposed to that particular bill, he did recently co–sponsor four bills that focus on renewable energy and renewable energy sources.