JACKSON, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Consumers Energy is moving forward with a $15 million dollar annual investment in automation they say will prevent thousands of outages each year.
Consumers Energy announced last week that it plans to install 123 new automatic transfer reclosers, or ATRs this year to help prevent power outages and improve electric reliability for customers.
Consumers officials say it’s an investment in automation that will play a key role in the company’s overall electric reliability plan that aims to reduce both the number and length of power outages.
Currently, the power company has nearly 470 of the 800-pound devices on the electric system, designed to isolate problems on electric lines and transfer power automatically. And the 2023 ATR deployment plan will target areas that have been most impacted by outages over the past several years, to include Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Jackson.
According to Consumer Energy’s vice president of electronic operations Chris Laird, the ATRs are programmed to detect power loss and follow predetermined actions to help reroute power in another direction.
Officials say also that in addition to ATRs, investments are being made to trim trees, replace aging equipment and upgrade key equipment to include substations.
The majority of the 2023 ATRs are expected to be complete and online this summer.
For more information about Consumers Energy, go to ConsumersEnergy.com.
