Consumers Energy invests $3.5M to install 1,200 iron electric poles, strengthen grid
Jackson-based Consumers Energy announced Monday it plans to install more than 1,000 iron electric poles in parts of Michigan this year. Company officials say the iron poles are stronger and more resilient to adverse weather than traditional wooden poles and will help deliver more consistent electric service for customers.
In a news release, the company said it has spent $3.5 million on 1,200 iron poles, with plans to install the first poles in the Kalamazoo, Greenville and Tawas areas. Mass power outages in Michigan in recent years have sparked customers to call on Consumers, along with Detroit-based DTE Energy, to take steps to strengthen their electric grids to ensure more reliable service.
“Installing these initial iron poles is another meaningful step toward modernizing the grid and improving reliability for our customers," Chris Laird, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations, said in a statement. “When the weather is good, you’ll see our crews busy at work this year installing poles safely and quickly to make sure we’re ready for storms.”
The company states the first poles will be installed in areas accessible to bucket trucks, trucks equipped with hydraulic lifts and a "bucket" for workers to stand in at the end of the lift.
Officials say the iron poles are expected to last "upwards of 80 years," and have double the lifespan of their wooden counterparts, partly due to being able to resist fire, withstand harsher weather and generally not being subject to the same decay that wood is.
Consumers provides electric service to 1.8 million customers in Michigan's lower peninsula. In March, state regulators signed off on Consumers raising its electric rates by $92 million, a $1.53 increase to the average monthly bill for a typical residential customer.
Along with implementing new iron electric poles, Consumers this year is spending $3.7 million to bury power lines, a process known as undergrounding, in six Michigan counties. By burying power lines, the company hopes to shield them from inclement weather, falling tree branches and other hazards that could result in lost power for customers.
Both the iron poles and the undergrounding pilots are part of a five-year "Reliability Roadmap" unveiled by Consumers last year, as it says it's working to deliver more reliable electric service.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's Consumers Energy to install iron electric poles this year
