MARQUETTE — Gov. Rick Snyder’s Northern Michigan Office held a conference call Wednesday morning to explain the recent agreement between We Energies and Cliffs Natural Resources concerning the operation of the Presque Isle Power Plant in Marquette.

Valerie Brader, deputy legal counsel and senior policy adviser to the Governor, provided the update and answered questions from those on the conference call.

Gov. Snyder announced Friday that We Energies would continue to operate the plant instead of selling it to the Upper Peninsula Power Company. The agreement came after talks between UPPCO and Cliffs failed over projected costs of power that would be produced at the plant until a new natural gas facility could be built at Cliffs.

The agreements are needed to stave off high electrical rates that are expected under the current system.

We Energies initially wanted to close the power plant after the mines bought electritiy from a different company but the plant was required to stay open with costs being passed on to electric customers in the U.P.