Customer-owners of three Michigan power co-ops – Great LakesEnergy Cooperative, Top O’Michigan Electric Co., and WesternMichigan Electric Cooperative – have approved a three-way merger totake effect next Jan. 1, creating the third largest Michigan-basedutility and the eight largest customer-owned power company in thenation.

The customer-owners of the co-ops voted in favor of the mergerover the weekend. The three co-op groups will operate as GreatLakes Energy Cooperative beginning next January, serving 106,000electric customers in 26 Michigan counties from the Mackinaw areato just north of Kalamazoo.

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