Consumers Energy is navigating a new path for electric reliability in Michigan. The latest project begins this week, when crews will bury four miles of power lines in Allegan County. Consumers Energy supplies many Michigan citizens with electricity, however much of Southwest Michigan’s tri-county area is served by Indiana-Michigan Power (I&M).
The Reliability Roadmap is set to lead the way toward a more resilient electric grid by protecting electric lines in some of Michigan’s most frequently hard-hit areas. The goal is to ensure our energy infrastructure can better withstand threats from falling trees and severe weather.
“Consumers Energy is committed to creating a future with fewer outages by setting the course for a more dependable system,” said Chris Laird, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations. “By burying electric lines, we’re able to avoid most weather-related disruptions, lighting the way for uninterrupted power.”
The Allegan County project will bury overhead power lines along Monroe Road between 36th and 39th Streets and along 39th Street to Lake Allegan. The project has begun and work is expected to end by Nov. 15. During this time, customers may experience brief power interruptions and are asked to slow down and go around Consumers Energy crews in the area.
This year, the company is spending $3.7 million to bury 10 miles of overhead power lines across six counties, including the Allegan County project. Within the next five years, we plan to bury 1,000 miles of power lines. Recently, we worked on a reliability project in Arenac County to help with its residential and industrial growth by undergrounding powerlines, bringing new, stronger poles to the region with new lines and line sensors that can better identify when there are interruptions to the grid.
The undergrounding efforts are part of Consumers Energy’s broader plans to bury more power lines as part of the Reliability Roadmap. We envision a future marked by restoring power within 24 hours after severe storms and limiting outages to no more than 100,000 customers at a time.
Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
