<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2IQIFC_0vk56v5k00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2IQIFC_0vk56v5k00" width="900" height="506" ></figure>GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The state has released a comprehensive audit on the reliability of Consumers Energy and DTE.The audit was performed by Pennsylvania-based The Liberty Consulting Group for the Michigan Public Service Commission. Liberty will present the findings of its audit at the MPSC meeting Thursday.MPSC in a release said the audit was “the deepest dive” it has ever conducted on Consumers and DTE Electric. The goal was to discover what was causing “lagging reliability and slow service restoration times” by examining the organizations’ equipment and operations, it said.Consumers Energy and DTE serve a total around 4.1 million customers, more than 80% of Michigan electric customers, MPSC said.“(This audit) provides an unprecedented examination of the condition of the electric grid serving those customers, an incredibly valuable tool as the MPSC continues its work to reduce power outages, shorten the time for restoration of power after storms, and keep residents safe when power lines come down — in short, a roadmap to achieving a grid that meets customer expectations,” MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said in the release. “The audit underscores that now is the time for both companies to focus more on strategic investments to prevent outages rather than reacting to them.”He said the audit is “the first of its kind in Michigan.”The audit took more than a year. Liberty held around 150 meetings, interviewed multiple people at the two utility companies, reviewed thousands of documents and visited various parts of the electric infrastructure. It also compared the two to similar utility organizations in Illinois and Michigan.Part of the audit examined the length and number of outages, both when taking into account ‘Major Event Days’ like storms and when excluding those days. It found that Consumers Energy, which services most of West Michigan, ranked in the fourth quartile when it came to the duration of outages, “worse than average among utilities.”Close to 500,000 costumers experienced outages that lasted more than eight hours last year, the audit says, due to two “catastrophic” storms. About 158,000 were without power for more than two days.The year before, around 370,000 had outages that lasted more than eight hours; around 25,000 had outages that lasted longer than 48 hours.The audit also found that more than 10% of costumers had four or more outages in 2023.The leading cause for outages was vegetation like trees, the audit said, accounting for about a third or more of the outages over the last three years. The audit noted that the cause of an interruption was listed as “weather” for 7% to 11% of interruptions over the last three years and as “unknown” for 8% to 13%.“The use of the ‘Weather’ and ‘Unknown’ cause codes is not precise and masks the cause of outages,” it says.Consumers aims to trim trees every five years or every nine years, depending on the circuit voltages. But the audit found that backlogs have led to an actual trim cycle of about 10 years, while some trees hadn’t been trimmed in 20 years. That’s much longer than the four-year programs two Illinois companies have and the five-year program municipal Lansing Board of Water and Light has, the audit says.When examining infrastructure, Liberty found vines growing on some poles and getting entangled with equipment.It also found that Consumers has many different low-voltage distribution voltages, something it said is unusual that can lead to additional challenges. It also found that around 3% of Consumers customers are served by ungrounded delta circuits, which it said can be a safety risk because those wires, when downed, can stay energized.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1vcvRp_0vk56v5k00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1vcvRp_0vk56v5k00" width="900" height="506" ></figure>The audit also found equipment that was decades old. Around 45% of Consumers’ substations were installed between 1903 and 1960.In a statement to News 8, Consumers Energy said it appreciates the audit.“The MPSC audit on our company’s storm response has been constructive, and we appreciate the deep experience and expertise Liberty brought to the process,” Director of External Relations Katie Carey said in the statement. “Consumers Energy proactively provided data, information and access to our facilities to Liberty.”She said Consumers Energy said is working to address reliability with a program it launched in 2023.“Michiganders are facing more severe and frequent storms, which is why we announced our Reliability Roadmap in 2023, a blueprint for fewer and shorter outages including no customer going more than 24 hours without power,” she said. “Our investments are focused on the customers we serve by adding technology, burying power lines and clearing trees. Consumers Energy will continue to advocate to build a smarter and stronger power grid that serves Michigan reliably 24/7.”Consumers Energy in July opened a $9.5 million substation in Walker aimed at improving reliability and capacity. It is also working to bury up to 10 miles worth of electric lines in six counties as part of a pilot program, along with its continued efforts to trim trees.MPSC said the audits will help it find the next steps to make sure Michigan’s electric grid is reliable. Commissioner Alessandra Carreon in the release said it will take time for Consumers Energy and DTE Electric to improve reliability.“The data from this audit will help shape strategies to prioritize the deployment of the investment needed to reduce outages from severe weather, restore power faster when it goes out, and significantly lower the risk of the public coming in contact with downed power lines,” Carreon said in the release.Thursday’s MPSC meeting, at which Liberty will officially present its findings, will be streamed live online.Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

‘Unprecedented’ Consumers audit looks at reliability

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The state has released a comprehensive audit on the reliability of Consumers Energy and DTE. The audit was performed by Pennsylvania-based The Liberty Consulting Group for the Michigan Public Service Commission. Liberty will present the findings of its audit at the MPSC meeting Thursday.