electricity

Michigan holding forums about future of energy

The Associated Press — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 13:49:00 +0000

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Public Service Commission and Michigan Energy Office officials plan to hold the first of seven forums this week on the state's energy future.

Among those scheduled to speak Thursday in Lansing include representatives of the Michigan Manufacturers Association, Michigan Environmental Council and Citizens Against Rate Excess.

The four-hour public forum called "Readying Michigan to Make Good Energy Decisions" starts at 1 p.m. at the Library of Michigan.

Congress extends production tax credit for wind

Rebecca Williams — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:14:23 +0000

With all the buzz around the fiscal cliff in Congress, something happened that you might’ve missed.

There’s a federal tax credit. It’s called the wind energy Production Tax Credit, and it was about to expire at the end of last year.

At the final hour, Congress extended that tax credit, and President Obama signed the bill.

It now covers wind projects that start construction in 2013.

Peter Kelley, a spokesman for the American Wind Energy Association, says the credit gives tax relief for the first ten years of a wind farm.

Michigan gets federal grant to prevent damage to underground pipes, power lines

Lindsey Smith — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 21:08:30 +0000

Michigan will get $90,000 from the US Department of Transportation to help prevent damage to underground pipelines. The federal agency announced the grant today. It's granting $1.5 million total to 22 states. The money will support advertising efforts for MISS DIG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5zQj5Ak44yI

"The number one cause of pipeline damage is people excavating on their own property without knowing what’s underground," said Judy Palnau, a Michigan Public Service Commission spokeswoman. The MPSC applied for the grant.

Utility customers get credits after 2-day outage

The Associated Press — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:26:37 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - About 8,000 DTE Energy Co. customers in Oakland County will receive credits on future bills after losing service this summer due to a substation fire.

The Detroit News reports Friday that the credits will range from $25 to $250 and show up on bills over the next several months.

Residences and businesses in Royal Oak and Berkley, north of Detroit, lost power for two days last month.

DTE Energy spokesman Len Singer says the amount of the credits will depend on the length of time customers were without electricity.

The newspaper reports that customers can seek a $25 credit if an outage lasts more than 16 hours under normal conditions or more than 120 hours under catastrophic conditions.

Don't want a smart meter? You'll have to pay for privilege

Tracy Samilton — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 13:46:37 +0000

The state's biggest electricity provider says customers who don't want a smart meter will have to pay extra for the privilege.

Smart meters use radio signals to allow two-way communication between a customer's residence and the utility.

The meters let utilities know immediately who has lost power, among other things. The company will also be able to remotely shut off power and turn it back on.

A good day to sit next to an air conditioner in Michigan

Steve Carmody — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:04:25 +0000

How hot was it today?

Hot enough for Consumers Energy to smash its all-time record for electricity demand.

Another hot day without electricity for many Michiganders

The Associated Press — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 13:59:12 +0000

DETROIT (AP) - Utility workers are battling high temperatures as they work to restore electricity to tens of thousands of Michigan homes and businesses without power following thunderstorms this week.

DTE Energy said early Saturday about 45,000 of its customers were without power, mostly in Oakland and Wayne counties. Consumers Energy reported about 23,700 of its customers without power.

Most of those without electricity lost service after storms late Wednesday and Thursday. DTE says most of its customers should have power back by Saturday night.

Many Michiganders still waiting for the power to be turned back on

Steve Carmody — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:58:48 +0000

Nearly 150,000 Michiganders are sweating through today without electricity.

Severe storms earlier this week knocked out power to more than 400,000 Michigan utility customers.

Spokesmen for DTE and Consumers Energy say it may be late Saturday or early Sunday before all the electricity is restored.

Dan Bishop is a spokesman for Consumers Energy. He says utility crews expect to make a lot of progress today, despite having to work in temperatures around 100 degrees.

“The heat is obviously the story of the day,” says Bishop. “The most important concern for us is to make sure our crews are well hydrated and working safely.”

Consumers Energy is getting some extra help from linemen from Missouri and Indiana.

Triple digit temperatures in the forecast for parts of Michigan today

Steve Carmody — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 05:01:01 +0000

Electric utilities in Michigan are expecting to see a big spike in demand today, as temperatures are expected to climb to 100 degrees in parts of Michigan.

Report: Michiganders will use less gasoline and electricity this summer

Steve Carmody — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:23:10 +0000

Michiganders will use less gasoline and electricity this summer, that's according to the Michigan Public Service Commission.

The state utility regulatory agency issued its annual Summer Energy Appraisal today.

Judy Palnau is the agency’s spokeswoman. She says there are a couple reasons why the public service commission expects gasoline sales will decline about 2 percent this summer in Michigan.

“Part of that is a economy. But part of that is we are also driving more energy efficient vehicles,” says Palnau.

Palnau says the economy is also a reason why they expect electricity use will dip slightly this summer.

“Our sluggish economy is still a factor in decreasing use of electricity,” says Palnau, though the MPSC expects residential electric use will increase.

The MPSC study also predicts natural gas sales will decline nearly 5 percent this summer. A mild winter drove down demand among both business and residential natural gas customers.

Reactor no. 2 back online at Michigan's Cook Nuclear Power Plant

Mark Brush — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:54:41 +0000

American Electric Power officials say reactor no. 2 at the Cook Nuclear Plant in southwest Michigan came back online Saturday after a 38-day refueling and maintenance shutdown.

Cook Nuclear Plant is located north of Bridgman, Michigan.

From an AEP press release:

Indiana Michigan Power’s Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 2 returned to service today at 4:47 p.m. following a refueling outage that began March 21. In addition to refueling the reactor and performing regular maintenance and testing work, the 38-day, 16-hour outage also included the installation of new main output transformers.

ABC 57 reports reactor no. 1 will be refueled next year.

There's a new player in Michigan's electricity market

Sarah Cwiek — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:45:44 +0000

A new energy company has moved into the residential power market in Michigan.

Glacial Energy has been operating in Michigan since 2008. But now they’re offering their services directly to households, too.

Glacial Energy regulatory affairs manager Derek Smiertka says the company only operates at the retail level—and that means they can generally offer cheaper rates than the big utilities.

Heat wave may cause power outages

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:40:29 +0000

The extremely hot weather has caused some electrical outages in metro Detroit. High temperatures and storms last month contributed to power outages across the state. The National Weather Service expects southern Michigan’s heat wave to continue through the weekend.

Scott Simon is with Detroit Edison. He says the electric grid is in good shape and should be able to handle the increased need for power.

95,000 Consumers Energy customers left powerless by strong storms

Steve Carmody — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:33:40 +0000

It may take until Thursday before tens of thousands of people in west and central Michigan get their electricity back. Two strong storm fronts moved through the state today, packing powerful winds.

Terry Dedoes is a Consumers Energy spokesman. He says the utility is busy trying to restore electricity to 95 thousand Consumers Energy customers.

Consumers Energy posts profit in 2010

Steve Carmody — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:48:09 +0000

Consumers Energy has been busy this week reconnecting tens of thousands of customers who lost power during last Sunday's ice & snow storm. So it could be argued the utility was due some good news. Today CMS Energy announced the Jackson-based utility profits increased last year.

44,000 Consumers Energy customers still in the dark

Steve Carmody — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:31:55 +0000

The ice storm was Sunday, but it may tomorrow or Friday before the last Consumers Energy customer who lost power will get their electricity restored. 195,000 thousand CMS utility customers lost power after the storm that dumped a half foot or more of snow and ice on Michigan at the beginning of the week.

About 44,000 are still without power, says Garrick Rochow, vice president of energy delivery for the utility:

Cleaning up after the storm

Steve Carmody — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:55:43 +0000

UPDATE 3:50pm

Thousands remain without power after "Presidents' Day Storm"

Zoe Clark — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 11:45:05 +0000

More than 100,000 utility customers in southern Michigan lost power from the "Presidents' Day storm" that hit the state Sunday and Monday... and they're likely to remain without electricity for at least two more days. The Associated Press reports:

Consumers Energy spokesman Tim Pietryga said in a statement Tuesday that most of the Jackson-based utility's customers without power are in Kalamazoo, Lenawee, Monroe, Hillsdale, Calhoun and Branch counties. More than 160,000 customers have been affected.
Pietryga said workers, including 100 utility crews from Indiana and Ohio, should return power to most blacked-out customers by late Thursday evening.
But power may not return to the hardest-hit counties until Friday. DTE Energy Co. reported no major outages.
Six to 10 inches of snow, along with sleet and ice, fell on Lower Michigan between Sunday and Monday.

Storm leaves 'relatively few' without power

Zoe Clark and Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:58:18 +0000

While the snow has been heavy across the state over the past 12 hours, the freezing rain that was forecasted missed much of the state.

That’s good news for DTE Energy and Consumer’s Energy, who are reporting relatively few power outages, according to the Associated Press.

Consumer’s Energy reports roughly 3,700 customers without power, with most of the outages occurring in Gratiot County.

Meanwhile, DTE Energy is reporting only 1,000 residential outages, which the company says is in line with the average number of outages during a typical day.