MICHIGAN (WHTC-AM/FM) — Consumers Energy’s appeal arrived as an emergency text alert Thursday evening to anyone with a Michigan number.
“Due to extreme temps Consumers asks everyone to lower their heat to 65 or less through Friday.”
A fire at Consumers’ Ray Township Natural Gas Compressor Station in Macomb County Wednesday morning has strained the grid for all utilities in the state. The fire’s cause remains under investigation and no one was hurt.
Governor Whitmer and Consumers Energy both made public appeals using social media and other channels, asking Michigan residents to cut back on natural gas use until Friday morning, setting thermostats to 65 degrees..
Consumers CEO Patti Poppe said in a video announcment record low temperatures are expected to increase demand.
The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids predicts the Holland area will see a high of 3 degrees Thursday, with windchills around -15.
On this day in 1914, Lower Michgan recorded 6 to 14 inches of snow, according to NWS records. In 1977, an artic blast delivered temperatures in the teens and as much as 4 feet of lake-effect snow along the lakeshore.
