Consumers Energy to bury 10 miles of electric lines - WOODTV.com
Consumers Energy to bury 10 miles of electric lines | WOODTV.com
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Public Service Commission this month granted approval for Consumers Energy to bury up to 10 miles worth of electric lines in six counties in the state.
This is a pilot program for the utility company that could potentially lead to more lines across Michigan being buried underneath the ground as well. This first project is projected to cost $3.7 million.
“This is a key part of our commitment to having no storm with over 100,000 customers and restor(ing) everybody in 24 hours or less,” Greg Salisbury, the vice president of electric operations, said. “I’m really excited that we got authorization from the Commission to go prove this out and we’re going to be focused on doing it really well so that we can deliver more and more miles of underground.”
The six counties that will have electric lines buried as part of this initial program are Ottawa, Montcalm, Allegan, Genesee, Livingston and Iosco. The process is set to get underway later this year. Only about 15% of Consumers’ lines are currently underground.
Burying power lines is something Salisbury said that customers have been vouching for. This would help prevent potential power outages due to high winds, downed trees or heavy snowfall. Salisbury also said that burying the lines will save Consumers money as the company will have fewer trees they have to trim down around above-ground lines.
“Once we’re underground, the primary risk is just making sure that people call Miss Dig whenever they’re going to be, you know, planting shrubs or doing work with equipment in their yards because there is electric lines under there,” Salisbury said. “But beyond that, there’s really not a lot to worry about in terms of outages.”
Consumers Energy hopes to bury around 5,000 of its 50,000 lines in the next 10 years. Salisbury also disclosed to News 8 that during the burying process, some customers may lose power as the transfer occurs but that they will be notified ahead of time and should only be without power for a few hours.
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