"Consumers Energy's Innovative Pilot Program: Burying Power Lines to Combat Outages"
Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest energy provider, has proposed a pilot program to bury power lines underground in an effort to improve grid resiliency and public safety. The program, pending approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission, will focus on circuits in counties with frequent and long outages and dense forestation. Consumers Energy estimates that burying power lines can improve resiliency by 90% along these circuits. Benefits of buried power lines include protection from lightning, wind, snow, and falling tree limbs, as well as reducing electrocutions, fires, car crashes, and falling poles. The company aims to learn how to bury lines in a cost-effective way to strengthen Michigan's electric grid and reduce outages.