Consumers Energy will bury some power lines in counties with frequent outages - 9 & 10 News
Consumers Energy will bury some power lines in counties with frequent outages - 9&10 News
MONTCALM COUNTY — Consumers Energy plans to bury 10 miles of overhead power lines in Genesee, Livingston, Allegan, Ottawa, Montcalm and Iosco County.
According to the company, buried power lines are better at preventing outages. The six counties involved in the pilot program are known to have frequent, lengthy outages and are in areas with dense trees, which are often responsible for the outages.
The program, approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, will be an investment of about $3.7 million. The commission approved a rate hike last week, in part to pay for upgrades like these.
“We want our customers to know that they can count on us for reliable, clean, affordable energy 24/7. And we know that our number one job is to keep the lights on. So this pilot project is another way that we are moving forward with improving reliability for our customers,” said Kristen Van Kley, spokesperson for Consumers.
Underground lines currently make up about 15% of all Consumers Energy electric lines, mostly in subdivisions and areas with high population density. Consumers aims to bury over 1,000 miles of line in the next five years.
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