Joshua Vissers/Daily Mining Gazette L'Anse Manufacturing is one of two businesses that have switched to power provided by the Village of L'Anse.

L’ANSE — The Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) and the village of L’Anse made an informal agreement in court Wednesday that prevented an injunction from being set in place.

“The court will enforce your informal agreement,” Judge Charles Goodman said.

UPPCO filed a complaint on Aug. 1 claiming that the village of L’Anse has made “attempts to take the Company’s (UPPCO) existing utility customers by unlawful means and without the Company’s consent.”

When the Dynamite Hill Road industrial park was annexed by the village, the electricity there was provided by UPPCO. Their franchise agreement with the village expired in July of this year. In July of 2017, the village notified UPPCO that their franchise would not be renewed, and that the businesses in the Dynamite Hill industrial park would be switched to power supplied through the village by WPPI Energy.

UPPCO lawyers say that the decision to end their franchise was arbitrary, with no health or safety concerns cited. They filed for an injunction to halt the change of customers from their power lines to WPPI’s. They believe the village and WPPI have been working together for as many as 18 months to steal customers from UPPCO.

Three customers, L’Anse Manufacturing, Collins Brothers Sawmill and the L’Anse village water tower, have already been switched to village electricity.

Mark Massicotte, president of L’Anse Manufacturing, said the lower costs of village power will help the competitiveness of his business. He said the higher cost of UPPCO electricity has put his business at a disadvantage for the last twelve years.

At today’s hearing, the village agreed not to change any more of UPPCO’s current customers over to WPPI power without court consent until the trial is completed.

“That’s acceptable to UPPCO,” said UPPCO attorney Jason Hanselman after a recess.

The village also agreed not to tamper with the UPPCO seals on their electricity meters, which UPPCO says the village directed WPPI to do in at least one case.

The village, in their filed response, says they believe the lawsuit is meant to harass and intimidate them into backing down. They claim that UPPCO agreed to relinquish their service in the future when the agreement for them to provide power was initially struck in May of 1987. The agreement had a term of 30 years, and UPPCO was limited to serving those “unable to obtain electric service from the municipally owned utility.”

L’Anse Manufacturing and Collins Brothers Sawmill each requested a transfer to village power in 2016, and an informal meeting led to the village deciding to work toward offering electric service to Dynamite Hill businesses.

When UPPCO filed in August, it asked the court for a restraining order to keep WPPI from changing the businesses’ power from UPPCO, which was denied.

The village filing states that when the businesses requested in writing that UPPCO discontinue service so that they could switch to village power, UPPCO denied their request.

Eventually, the businesses were still changed over but UPPCO is still energizing the lines and special protective equipment had to be used.