LANSING – State Rep. Beau LaFave on Monday criticized Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s appointments to the newly created U.P. Energy Task Force.

“I am deeply disappointed but not surprised to see that the governor’s ‘U.P. Energy Task Force’ has been packed with downstate liberals who want to shut down the delivery of affordable propane to the U.P. and turn our home into a wildlife preserve, uninhabitable by humans,” said LaFave, of Iron Mountain. “Seven of the governor’s appointees have never paid an energy bill in the U.P. and I question what they know about the challenges of heating their homes during winter’s deep freezes.”

Studies have determined that 65 percent of the propane that heats homes and businesses in the Upper Peninsula is delivered through Line 5. Alternative transport, such as trucking or rail, would trigger an increase in fuel costs, LaFave said.

“There are four state house districts in the U.P. and, notably, nearly two-thirds of the residents chosen are from the U.P.’s only Democratic district,” LaFave said. “It is quite clear, once again, that pandering to her liberal political base is more important for the governor than protecting the livelihood and well-being of Upper Peninsula families.”

The appointments follow the governor’s announcement last week that she would assemble a closed-door commission to study alternatives to Line 5, which now is submerged under the Straits of Mackinac where Lake Michigan connects with Lake Huron.

A study conducted by Dynamic Risk evaluated six possible alternatives to the current Line 5 and concluded housing the line inside a utility tunnel 100 feet below the floor of the straits was the safest option, LaFave said.