Consumers Energy will explore burying power lines to prevent outages. Here's where
JACKSON — Michigan’s largest energy provider hopes to launch a pilot program to better understand the benefits of burying power lines.
Consumers Energy announced Wednesday, July 5, that it's proposing a pilot program to bury power lines in parts of six counties, pending approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission.
The pilot program will target areas of Ottawa, Allegan, Livingston, Montcalm, Genesee and Iosco counties. It will focus on areas that have frequent, lengthy outages and places with dense trees that are often responsible for those outages.
Consumers said the initiative is meant to help the company better understand whether burying power lines can be a cost-effective way to strengthen the state’s electric grid and reduce outages. It will study resiliency improvements and compare those improvements to other approaches.
“We know burying power lines will help make the grid stronger, especially during violent storms that are hitting Michigan more frequently,” said Greg Salisbury, vice president of electric distribution engineering. “Historically the costs to bury lines have been too expensive, but (we've) 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.”
Buried power lines are protected from lightning, high winds, heavy snow and falling tree limbs, Consumers said. They can also improve safety by reducing or eliminating electrocutions and fire hazards.
Consumers estimates it can improve resiliency by 90 percent along circuits where lines are buried, based on results from other states and providers that have buried lines.
“We can’t control the weather, but we can control how we prepare for more extreme storms,” said Chris Laird, vice president of electric operations. “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.”
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Around 15 percent of Consumers Energy’s lines are currently underground. Most of those are located in subdivisions and areas with high population density. Moving forward, the company will aim to move around 400 miles of power lines underground annually.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Consumers Energy will explore burying power lines to prevent outages. Here's where
