GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Since we last heard from Creston-area neighbors in early July on what is now infamously known as the "Bermuda Triangle" of electricity, Jill Rothwell said they haven't experienced a power outage recently, however, it's something that's frequent in the area.
"So far this year its been out seven times," said Rothwell.
For Rothwell and the few hundred neighbors who are impacted by outages, they continue to hope Consumers Energy will come up with a solution.
"I am unaware, other than the taking down trees, that there really is a solution that's going to work," said Rothwell.
Since 2021, Consumers Energy Spokesperson Brian Wheeler said the company has made a more aggressive effort to trim trees.
Their goal this year is to take care of over 7,000 miles of Michigan Trees. Wheeler said that can include trimming branches to sometimes cutting whole trees.
"In some cases, you do remove an entire tree, but far more often, and far more common, your cutting branches and limbs away, the ones that are reaching into the power lines themselves," said Wheeler.
Consumer's Energy, according to Wheeler, spends around $100 million on forestry annually. With recent intense storms, like the straight line winds that tore trees down across Muskegon County, Wheeler said they hope the project will result in more reliability in powering Michigan neighborhoods and businesses.
However, Rothwell said, she would rater see other methods than cutting.
"I'm not a big fan of taking down the trees, I love our trees, if our tree were coming down I would be as upset," said Rothwell.
According to Wheeler, Consumers will try to work with neighbors when it comes to trees. He also said the company has an accountability to customers.
"We look to the effects we're going to have on communities, we communicate with landowners, with neighbors to make sure people understand what we're doing, but we have to make it clear that this is about reliability, this is about keeping the lights on for our customers," said Wheeler.