Consumers Energy
Encyclopedia
Consumers Energy is a public utility that provides natural gas and electricity to more than 6 million of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
's 10 million residents. It serves customers in all 68 of the state’s Lower Peninsula counties. It is a division of CMS Energy
CMS Energy
CMS Energy is a public utility supplying electric power and natural gas to Metro Detroit and most of Michigan. Its headquarters are located in Jackson, Michigan. The company has operated since 1890....
. Its headquarters is in Jackson
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
.
History
The company was founded in 1886 as Commonwealth Power Company by William A. Foote, originally tasked to install electric lighting in downtown Jackson. (His wife later founded Foote HospitalFoote Hospital
Allegiance Health is a community-owned and locally-governed health system located in Jackson in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was founded in 1918 as Foote Hospital when a local citizen, Mrs. Ida Foote, donated land for construction of the new hospital in honor of her late husband, W.A...
, also in Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
.)
After a series of acquisitions and mergers involving other local electric, gas, and trolley companies which were properties of W.A. Foote, as well as Anton G. Hodenpyl and H. D. Walbridge, the company incorporated as Consumers Power Company in 1910 in Maine, and became part of the utility holding conglomerate Commonwealth and Southern, which held utilities in 10 other states.
Commonwealth and Southern dissolved in 1946, leaving Consumers Power (and all other utility holdings) an independent company. In 1968, the company reincorporated in Michigan
and their headquarters were located in Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
. Consumers operated the Big Rock Point
Big Rock Point
-External links:* on Consumer's Energy website...
Nuclear Power Plant in Charlevoix from 1962 to 1997 and built the Palisades
Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
The Palisades Power Plant is a nuclear power plant located on Lake Michigan, in Van Buren County's Covert Township, Michigan, on a site of 432 acres 5 miles south of South Haven, Michigan, USA.Palisades is owned and operated by Entergy...
Nuclear Plant near South Haven in 1971, which is still in service.
In 1968, Consumers Power began construction of a nuclear power plant in Midland, Michigan
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, primarily for the Dow Chemical Company
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow...
. The project's budget was $257 million, with completion anticipated in 1972. Extreme construction problems caused years of delays and costs soared. The Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
in 1979 resulted in a massive change in nuclear regulatory requirements and system redesign. When it was revealed that the containment buildings were settling and foundation cracks were discovered, Dow cancelled their contract with Consumers Power, and the project was abandoned in 1984. The $4.1 billion investment nearly bankrupted Consumers Power. However, in 1985, Consumers Power formed a partnership with eight other companies to convert Midland's abandoned nuclear plant into a gas-fired power plant. Transformation of the plant began in 1986 and was completed at a cost of $500 million. The Midland Cogeneration Venture
Midland Cogeneration Venture
The Midland Cogeneration Venture is a natural gas fired electrical and steam co-generation plant in Midland, Michigan owned by Midland Cogeneration Venture Limited Partnership...
began producing power in 1991 and that success restored faith in Consumers Power.
In 1997, the name of the company was changed to Consumers Energy.
Consumers Energy's trademark slogan is "Count on Us", and they are now a subsidiary of CMS Energy
CMS Energy
CMS Energy is a public utility supplying electric power and natural gas to Metro Detroit and most of Michigan. Its headquarters are located in Jackson, Michigan. The company has operated since 1890....
.
System Information
Because of utility regulatory changes, Consumers had to give up control of its transmission system; it opted instead to sell the system to the Michigan Electric Transmission Company (METC), currently an ITC Holdings company (which also owns Detroit Edison's transmission system under the "ITCTransmission" brand.)Consumers Energy has an electric generating capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Consumers Energy's primary distribution voltages are 4.8/8.32 kV, 7.2/12.47 kV, and 14.4/24.9 kV. Consumers retained its looped 46kV High Voltage Distribution (HVD) system and the radial 138 kV lines as well.
Generating Plants
Consumers Energy has 7 power plants.Consumers Energy's largest power plant is the Karn-Weadock coal-fired generating station located on Saginaw Bay
Saginaw Bay
Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is in area...
near Bay City
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
. Other Consumers Energy Coal fired plants are the JH Campbell power plant between Holland
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
and Grand Haven
Grand Haven, Michigan
Grand Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Ottawa County. Grand Haven is located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Grand River, for which it is named. As of the 2010 census, Grand Haven had a population of 10,412. It is part of the...
; the Cobb power plant in Muskegon
Muskegon, Michigan
Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
and the Whiting Power Plant on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
in Luna Pier
Luna Pier, Michigan
Luna Pier is a small city in Monroe County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located from the Ohio border along the coast of Lake Erie. It was established in the early 1900s and incorporated as a city in 1963. It functioned primarily as a resort for people living in the greater Toledo, Ohio and...
, just north of the Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
/Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
state line. Consumers also operates and co-owns (with Detroit Edison
Detroit Edison
The Detroit Edison Company, founded in 1903, is an investor-owned electric utility which serves most of Southeast Michigan. Its parent company, DTE Energy , provides energy services to a variety of clients beyond Detroit Edison's service area.- History :...
) the Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant
Ludington Pumped Storage Power Plant
The Ludington Pumped Storage Plant is a hydroelectric plant and reservoir in Ludington, Michigan. It was built between 1969 and 1973 at a cost of $315 million and is owned jointly by Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison and operated by Consumers Energy...
near Ludington
Ludington, Michigan
Ludington is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,357. It is the county seat of Mason County.Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River...
.
Two generating facilities previously owned by Consumers Energy (but still serving Consumers Energy's system) are the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
Palisades Nuclear Generating Station
The Palisades Power Plant is a nuclear power plant located on Lake Michigan, in Van Buren County's Covert Township, Michigan, on a site of 432 acres 5 miles south of South Haven, Michigan, USA.Palisades is owned and operated by Entergy...
, 5 miles south of South Haven and The Midland Cogeneration Venture
Midland Cogeneration Venture
The Midland Cogeneration Venture is a natural gas fired electrical and steam co-generation plant in Midland, Michigan owned by Midland Cogeneration Venture Limited Partnership...
in Midland.
On the Muskegon River
Muskegon River
The Muskegon River is a river in the western portion of the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The river has its headwaters in Houghton Lake in Roscommon County, flowing out of the North Bay into neighboring Missaukee County. From there it flows mostly southwest to Muskegon, Michigan,...
, in Newaygo
Newaygo County, Michigan
Newaygo County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Grand Rapids–Wyoming, MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 48,460. The county seat is White Cloud. Newaygo County was either named for an Ojibwe leader who signed the Saginaw...
and Mecosta
Mecosta County, Michigan
Mecosta County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. The county is named after Chief Mecosta, the leader of the Potawatomi Native American tribe that once traveled the local waterways in search of fish and game. Chief Mecosta was one of the signers the Treaty of Washington in 1836. The easily...
county, Consumers Energy operates 3 Hydroelectric Powerplant
PowerPlant
PowerPlant is an object-oriented GUI toolkit, application framework and set of class libraries for Mac OS, created by Metrowerks. The framework was fairly popular at the height of the Classic Mac OS era, and was primarily used with CodeWarrior...
complexes. Together, the three dams (Rogers, Hardy
Hardy Dam
Hardy Dam is a dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Big Prairie Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. At the time of its completion, it was the largest earthen dam in North America east of the Mississippi, and is still the third largest earthen dam in the world and the largest east of...
and Croton
Croton Dam (Michigan)
Croton Dam is a dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Croton Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. It was built in 1907 under the direction of William D. Fargo by the Grand Rapids - Muskegon Power Company, a predecessor of Consumers Energy...
) can generate about 45,500 kilowatts, with about 30,000 of that from Hardy, which is enough electricity to serve a community of nearly 23,000.