JACKSON, Mich. — Michigan's largest utility company announced a new proposal for building a stronger electric grid in the state.
Consumers Energy is proposing to begin implementing its Reliability Roadmap by burying power lines, upgrading infrastructure and improving grid automation.
Also in the plan is wildlife risk mitigation which is aimed at protecting customers from increased risk of wildfires by prioritizing tree trimming, equipment upgrades and effective monitoring.
"Wildfire risk in Michigan has grown in recent years, due to changing weather patterns that result in longer than usual dry periods throughout the state,” said Greg Salisbury, vice president of electric distribution engineering. “Our new plan aims to provide more reliable service to our customers while strengthening and protecting the grid against destructive wildfire risk throughout Consumers Energy’s service territory.”
Consumers Energy points out two tactics that it is using to reach their goal of a modern, stronger and more resilient grid:
- Burying 35 miles of additional power lines to provide better protection from common outage causes, including lightning, high winds, tornadoes, heavy snow, ice and falling tree limbs.
- Infrastructure upgrades and proactive maintenance planning to find, fix and prevent issues to help the grid’s reliability and lower costs.
The proposal will be officially filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) on Friday.
“This proposal shows our strong commitment to delivering more reliable, resilient energy for every customer,” said Chris Laird, vice president of electric operations. “We will not let up until our grid is stronger and smarter, and we’ll do it in a way that keeps costs down – preventative measures are 40 percent less expensive to fix than responding to problems. We look forward to working with the Michigan Public Service Commission and others to move ahead with our plan.”
Consumers Energy recently agreed to paying a $1 million fine following an investigation into faulty meters, estimated billing and delays in new service hookups by the MPSC.
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