Exhibit  99  -  Press  release  issued  August 14,  2002
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FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE

ANALYSTS  CONTACT:  THOMAS  CONNELLY
Director  of  Investor  Relations
Phone:  248-702-6000  Ext.  6240

MEDIA  CONTACT:  FRANCIS  R.  LIEDER
Phone:  810-987-2200  Ext.  4186
FAX:  810-989-4098
E-mail:  francis.lieder@semcoenergy.com


          SEMCO  ENERGY'S  ALASKA  DIVISION  RECEIVES  RATE  ORDER

     Farmington  Hills,  MI,  August  13, 2002 -- SEMCO ENERGY (NYSE: SEN) today
announced  that  its  Alaska  natural  gas distribution unit, ENSTAR Natural Gas
Company,  has  received  an Order from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA)
concluding  its  review of ENSTAR's revenue requirement based on normalized data
for  the  year  2000.  SEMCO  acquired  ENSTAR  in  1999.

     The  Order  indicates  an  annual  revenue reduction of $2.1 million, which
would  be 1.96 percent of ENSTAR's revenue in the normalized 2000 test year. The
RCA has required ENSTAR to file an updated cost of service study and rate design
by  September  9,  2002,  to  reflect  the  results  of  the  Order.

     In  its  Order, the RCA established a revenue requirement of $107.6 million
and  a  12.55 percent return on equity.  The RCA said, "We established the 12.55
percent return on equity, which is at the upper end of the range proposed in the
record,  to reflect confidence in ENSTAR's management practices and to assure an
incentive  of  capital  investment  in  the  company."

     SEMCO  ENERGY Chief Financial Officer John E. Schneider said, "Although the
Order  issued  by  the RCA indicates an annual reduction in revenue, the outcome
does not change our earnings guidance for 2002, which remains at $.80 to .85 per
share."

     ENSTAR  Natural  Gas  Company  is  a  division  of  SEMCO  ENERGY,  Inc., a
diversified  energy  and  infrastructure company that distributes natural gas to
more  than  377,000  Customers in Michigan and Alaska. It also owns and operates
businesses  involved  in  pipeline  construction services, propane distribution,
intrastate  pipelines  and  natural gas storage in various regions of the United
States.  In  addition,  it  provides  information  technology  and  outsourcing
services,  specializing  in  the  mid-range  computer  market.

     The  following  is  a  "Safe-Harbor" statement under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  This release contains forward-looking statements
that  involve  risks  and uncertainties. Statements that are not historic facts,
including  statements  about  the  Company's  outlook, beliefs, plans, goals and
expectations,  are  forward-looking  statements.  Factors  that  may  impact
forward-looking  statements  include,  but  are  not  limited to, the effects of
weather,  the  economic  climate,  competition,  commodity  prices,  changing
conditions  in  the  capital  markets, regulatory approval processes, success in
obtaining  new  business  and  other  risks  detailed  from  time to time in the
company's  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  filings.