Dan Scripps quietly plays one of the biggest roles in state government in determining the energy future of Michigan, mostly from his home office in Northport.
Scripps, the one-term state legislator who rode the coattails of President Barack Obama into office in 2008, was appointed in 2019 to the three-member Michigan Public Service Commission and named its chair in 2020. Both appointments were made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who reappointed him this summer to a six-year term on the commission.
Scripps earned his bachelor’s degree from Alma College and his jurisprudence degree from the University of Michigan. Between serving as a legislator and a MPSC board member, his professional career revolved around nonprofit corporations that push for widespread adoption of clean energy. He served as program director of midwest policy for the Energy Foundation and president of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council.
As chair of the MPSC Mr. Scripps receives a salary of $162,315.79.
Mr. Scripps was interviewed by Enterprise staff writer Alan Campbell. Following are the exchanges.
Enterprise: For being only 47, you’ve already had a full professional life, working for a law firm based in Washington, D.C., serving as a state legislator, heading nonprofits that push for clean energy, and now as chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission. Does serving on the MPSC seem like a good fit at this stage of your career?
Scripps: In some ways it’s a dream job. When the governor offered the appointment, it literally was the only job I was interested in in state government and I was fortunate to be chosen. It’s where the rubber meets the road in terms of when energy changes are taking place. It’s never the same day twice.
Enterprise: How do you balance time in Northport and Lansing? Are you still an official Northport resident?
Scripps: I am a Northport resident. It was a challenge the first year in terms of trying to balance. We have been remote or offered that opportunity since the pandemic, and that continues for the commission. Most of my time is spent at home and I’m in Lansing for meetings, of course. There are other things that take me out of Leelanau County, but most of the time I’m able to work from home.
Enterprise: Is chairing the MPSC a full time job? Do you hold positions with outside firms, or would that be a conflict?
Scripps: By law, being a commissioner can be your only source of income and there are limitations on volunteer activity. When the legislature wrote the law in 1939, they wanted it to be a full time position. By law it’s the only thing I’m allowed to do.
Enterprise: What’s been entailed in most of the cases that have come before the MPSC while you’ve been on board?
Scripps: It’s a little of everything. We get rate cases, including the rates natural gas and utility companies are allowed to charge. We get integrated source plans for how utilities meet the long-term needs of their customers. Siting cases, including the Line 5 determination we issued earlier this month … its a little bit of everything.
Enterprise: Recently you were the lead story on the Detroit News webpage, where you were portrayed as a newsmaker because of passage of a series of energy bills supported by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The bills were described by opponents as removing local control to approve major green energy projects such as windmill farms. Was that a fair assertion?
Scripps: I think it’s a balance. The process will still need to start at the local level. But there are now requirements that local zoning for renewable projects is comparable with what’s in the state law. If it isn’t, there is now a process to seek state siting approval for larger projects. But there are a number of protections for neighboring landowners and local units of government to participate in the cases. It’s a balance to make sure we have the energy resources we need … while preserving a way for local governments to have a say in the process.
The way I described it when I was testifying on the bills is that it gives local governments a voice but not a veto on energy projects large enough to be significant to the state’s overall energy mix.
Enterprise: You clearly have a passion for renewable energy. How long have you had it?
Scripps: It evolved over time. The more I learned about the energy industry the more interested I got. I think it really started with running for the state House, and ultimately serving the 101st District. It’s everything from the old wind turbine on M-72 to the largest pump storage facility in the United States in Ludington to the plant in Manistee that co-fires coal with biomass. It’s dams on the Manistee River and natural gas exploration. Representing the district provided a great introduction to the diversity of the energy industry, which is really interesting.
Enterprise: You’ve dedicated much of your professional career with advancing the clean energy industry, so it’s obvious you’re a proponent of solar and wind farms. Will you find it difficult to turn down approval of solar or wind projects when they come before the MPSC because you feel they are so important to our future?
Scripps: No. There is a fundamental difference between a lawmaker and a commissioner. Our job is to take the law as written by the legislature, then apply the facts to that law. It’s more of a judicial role than a policy making or advocacy role. That means the decisions may differ from the policies I promoted or advocated for as a candidate.
Enterprise: Given that the commission has a majority Democratic members, did the decision to allow the Line 5 Tunnel surprise members of your party?
Scripps: I think it speaks to the difference between a policymaker and a regulator. In filing the case Enbridge was asking to replace the pipelines currently sitting on the bottomlands of the Straits with a new four-mile segment housed within a tunnel. After looking at the evidence in the case and what the law required, we approved their request subject to additional safety conditions, and found that housing that segment within the tunnel would virtually eliminate the risk the current pipelines pose to the Great Lakes.
Enterprise: Are advocates of clean energy winning over the hearts and minds of Americans?
Scripps: Overall, yes. You see in public opinion surveys significant support for clean energy across the political spectrum. But as controversy over the siting legislation shows, there is still concern for particular projects at particular places.
Enterprise: You've been described as an “American politician” although you’ve only held one elected office, that of serving one term in the state Legislature. Is it time to change that title?
Scripps: Yes. I didn’t know that, I didn’t know that was there. But it’s been a long time since I’ve thought of myself as a politician. That probably ended Election Day 2016.
Enterprise: It’s been seven years since you ran for the State House. Do you see yourself as running for state office at any time in the future?
Scripps: The answer is probably never say never, but it’s pretty close to no. I really like being able you dive into the complexities of the energy and telecommunication industries. That’s hard to do if you are responsible for everything that might come across a legislator’s desk.
Enterprise: Tell us about your family, from wife, Jamie, to Jack to Nichol.
Scripps: Jamie has her own consultant business and is able to work from home as well. Nichol is a fourth grader and Jack an eighth grader at Northport Public School. It’s fun to watch them develop and thrive.
Enterprise: Your father, Doug Scripps, served as Leelanau Township supervisor and your mother Merillee served as treasurer of Northport Village. Both have retired. How are they doing?
Scripps: We’re lucky enough to live across the street from them so I get to see them just about every day and they are a daily presence in our kids lives, too. That’s been really special, too.
Enterprise: Last question. At Christmas, do you open gifts on the eve or the day?
Scripps: It’s usually Christmas day, although we’re not 100% strict on that. They usually get one or two the night before. With two lawyers as parents, it’s not surprising that they make good arguments for both times.
