Consumers Energy trims more trees to improve reliability during storms

ALGOMA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Consumers Energy is expanding its efforts to reduce power outages in West Michigan.

A key part of that strategy includes trimming and clearing trees along power lines.

The utility says it will trim and remove trees along more than 7,000 miles of power lines across the state this year, according to spokesperson Brian Wheeler.

“You can imagine with 70 mile per hour winds, which we’ve seen this year, it blows trees and limbs over. In particular, it’s older trees, diseased, decaying trees, that are the greatest risk to be susceptible to wind,” Wheeler said.

Keeping the horses and clients attended to at the Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding near Rockford is a constant task and it requires electricity. But that can be a struggle after severe weather in a rural area that sees a number of outages.

“I would say (the power goes out) probably at least 10 times a year,” said Kelly Alcock, the program coordinator for the center.

Alcock said the center needs power to operate.

“If the power goes out, we don’t have any lights or any computers, any of that stuff to connect with people. But then also, we’re on a well so that shuts down so then we don’t have bathrooms or water that’s available,” Alcock said.

Wheeler said the utility has more than 300 crews stationed across the state working on forestry.

“In West Michigan alone that means hundreds of miles of work,” Wheeler said.

Consumers reliability roadmap has helped identity ways to reduce outages with the goal of restoring power in 24 hours or less and reducing the size of an outage after a major storm to 100,000 customers or less.

“We’ve actually implemented new technologies, new computer systems that looked to see where we have power outages because of trees and forestry and where we can really make the most impact so we’re trying to be strategic about this as well,” Wheeler said.

The utility is also working to bury some power lines through a pilot program but that process can be expensive and takes time.

“Over the next five years we expect to bury about 1,000 miles of power lines across the state,” Wheeler said.

For customers like the Equest Center, the efforts to reduce outages are appreciated.

“That’s just great all around because not only for the power lines to not hit but then we have a lot of trees coming down and that ruins property, blocks the road,” Alcock said.

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