JACKSON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Consumers Energy released a plan last week about a pilot program to bury power lines as a cost-effective way to strengthen Michigan’s electric grid and reduce outages. The program would need approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission and would target circuits in Genesee, Livingston, Allegan, Ottawa, Montcalm, and Iosco counties that have frequent, lengthy outages and are in areas with dense trees, which are often responsible for the outages.
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Their press release says that the program will study real-world resiliency improvements that result from burying power lines, and how those improvements compare with other approaches to improving electric service for nearly 2 million Michigan homes and businesses.
The company says that buried power lines are protected from common outage causes, including lightning, high winds, tornadoes, heavy snow, ice and falling tree limbs. They go on to say, “Buried lines also reduce or eliminate downed wire electrocutions, fire hazards, vehicle collisions, and falling poles, improving public safety.”
Based on results from other states and energy providers that have moved overhead lines underground, Consumers Energy estimates it can improve resiliency 90 percent along circuits where lines are buried.
Greg Salisbury, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric distribution engineering said, “We know burying power lines will help make the grid stronger, especially during violent storms that are hitting Michigan more frequently. Historically the costs to bury lines have been too expensive, but we have driven down the cost per mile to be equivalent to above-ground hardening costs. This pilot will help us learn even more about how to bury lines in ways that keep costs as low as possible, allowing us to bury additional lines in the future.”
Chris Laird, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations said, “We can’t control the weather, but we can control how we prepare for more extreme storms. Burying the lines is just one tool we can use in our growing toolbox to prevent outages from impacting our customers. We are committed to delivering more reliable, resilient energy for every customer.”
Consumers Energy aims to bury about 400 miles of line annually in the future. Today, only about 15 percent of Consumers Energy lines are underground, and most are located in subdivisions and areas with high population density.
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Salisbury said, “It is important to remember burying our lines might be the right solution for some areas but not others. We will use a strategic approach and do it in the most cost-effective way for our customers. And by using a few different strategies to strengthen the grid, we will be able to deliver a brighter future for all the communities we serve.”
The press release says that the energy provider’s overall $5.4 billion electric reliability plan is a blueprint for serving Michigan today while investing and innovating to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Investments include installing new technology and automation, trimming trees, replacing aging equipment and upgrading key equipment such as substations.
Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
