Consumers Energy believes its investment in smart technology for Michigan’s electric grid is paying off, with the utility claiming the tech kept the lights on for over 72,000 customers who “would have otherwise lost power at some point” this year.
Automatic transfer reclosers (ATRs), can be thanked for that, Consumers Energy said. So far in 2024, Consumers Energy projects those 72,000-plus customers would have lost power for a total of over 350,000 hours.
“Consumers Energy is building a stronger grid with our Reliability Roadmap, and it’s also a smarter one that will keep more people from losing power in the first place,” said Greg Salisbury, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric distribution engineering. “The results that we’re seeing from our ATRs and other technological tools show us that we’re on the right path to better serving our friends and neighbors 24/7/365.”
Consumers Energy is installing over 100 ATRs across Michigan this year – it has almost 550 at work across the state now – and plans to continue adding more as part of its reliability roadmap. The utility said it is trying to reach two long-term goals- ensuring no more than 100,000 customers lose power “even after the worst storms,” and always restoring power in 24 hours or less.
In October, Consumers Energy said it is working to inspect a “record” amount of low-voltage electric lines in Michigan this year: the utility plans to cover 25,500 miles by the year’s end – more than the circumference of the Earth at the equator.
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