January through July this year, Consumers Energy invested $90 million statewide into its electric grid.
Spokesperson Matt Johnson says areas in West Michigan prone to frequent, weather-driven outages are top priorities.
“Michigan does seem to be seeing an increase in the severity and length of storms. And so, the time is just as important now as ever, that we're proactive in making these upgrades ahead of time. So that when we do experience significantly impactful weather, our system is built to handle it.”
Upgrades range from replacing neighborhood poles and wires to reinforcing high-voltage transmission lines to burying storm-vulnerable overhead lines.
So far, the utility has invested more than $10 million in Muskegon and Ottawa counties, $12 million in Kent.
But the most significant investment is in Allegan County where $13 million has funded six major projects.
“That is one of the areas that we know typically is hardest hit. We've been upgrading some high voltage lines, the Wayland and Pullman and Scott Lake substations - that's really the backbone and infrastructure of the grid in Allegan County.”
Johnson notes that three-quarters of every customer dollar goes directly into these infrastructure improvements.
Nearly 900 additional projects are scheduled statewide through December.
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