State Rep. Dylan Wigela warns of data‑center impacts, urges moratorium and flags surveillance concerns

State Rep. Dylan Wigela (who represents parts of Romulus and areas that include Garden City) used his March 9 appearance before the Garden City City Council to deliver a wide-ranging update that touched on utility billing, data‑center growth, immigration enforcement and mass‑surveillance concerns.

Wigela said his office has introduced legislation that would prohibit utilities such as DTE Energy from charging a fee for credit‑ or debit‑card payments. "I see this as just another attempt for DTE to raise rates on residents," he said, adding that his bill is intended to stop companies from shifting transaction costs to customers. He also criticized recent state tax exemptions for data centers and said some data‑center projects have been fast‑tracked by state agencies.

On data centers specifically, Wigela urged caution and said his committee is examining corporate subsidies and state investments tied to large AI and data‑processing facilities. He referenced a Saline Township project that, he said, is projected to increase DTE’s load by about 25% and could use the electricity equivalent of "1,000,000 homes," and warned that…