Pipeline Shutdown Supported By Progressives Could Cost 23,000 U.P. Households Their Heat

The progressive advocacy group Progress Michigan supports Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her efforts to shut down Line 5, the pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac.

“Shutting down Line 5 is in the best interests of public health and the safety of the Great Lakes and Gov. Whitmer is well within her right to take legal action to do so,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of the organization.

In a November 2020 press release, Scott also stated, “This is a huge win for everyone who cares about the Great Lakes and for the environmental justice activists who have fought for decades to shut down Line 5.”

The pipeline belongs to Enbridge and transports 540,000 barrels of crude oil and natural gas liquids each day. It supplies 65% of the Upper Peninsula’s propane supply and more than half of the crude oil used in Ontario.

Groups supporting the pipeline say without it, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Canada would see major economic losses and other negative impacts.

According to the industry-supported advocacy group known as the Consumer Energy Alliance, shutting down Line 5 would have the following effects:

• $20.8 billion lost in economic activity
• $2.36 billion in forgone labor earnings in salaries, wages and benefits
• 33,755 lost jobs and
• $265.7 million in lower annual state tax revenues.

Propane prices would significantly increase for the 23,000 households in the Upper Peninsula that use the fuels to heat their homes. That’s according to a policy brief written by Jason Hayes of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Isaac Orr of the Center of the American Experiment. Gas prices could also soar, they say.

Their report notes that the U.P. uses approximately 34.2 million gallons of propane each year, 78% of which is for residential heating. If shortages happen in snowbelt areas where temperatures routinely fall below zero, fuel shortages could become life-threatening.

Fitness-for-service evaluations of Line 5 conducted by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration have given the pipeline positive assessments.