Latest news with #ConsumersEnergy
CBS News
24-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Power lines down, outages reported as storms hit Southeast Michigan on Tuesday
Officials in Metro Detroit are reporting downed power lines and outages as storms invade Southeast Michigan Tuesday afternoon. In Farmington Hills, officials say a downed line closed the westbound Grand River entrance at M-5. Drivers are diverted to WB Grand River. Additionally, eastbound M-5 is reduced to one lane at Orchard Lake Road. According to DTE Energy, more than 30,000 customers are without power as of 4:40 p.m. Meanwhile, Consumers Energy says more than 7,000 customers are impacted. Warnings and watches issued in Southeast Michigan Severe thunderstorm warning issued for Lenawee and Washtenaw counties until 5:45 p.m.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Daily morning habit that's completely free will keep your home cool and and electric bill low
Homeowners hoping to keep cool — and keep costs down —may want to consider leaving their curtains closed when they wake up. With summer in full swing, energy usage is rising and so are electric bills. Utility companies like Consumers Energy have rolled out summer pricing that runs through September 30. It means electricity is now more than 50 percent dearer at a time most families are having to turn the AC to max. The timing couldn't be worse for residents already grappling with inflation, rising utility costs, and economic uncertainty tied to tariffs and recession fears. In New York, a recent climate bill has also been blamed for contributing to higher gas and electricity prices in the city. Matt Johnson, of Consumers Energy, pointed out that air conditioning is one of the biggest contributors to higher summer bills. Along with closed curtains, pre-cooling homes, cooking outside, keeping shades drawn, window and door quality control, and technology are worthy money-saving tricks to try. Besides Johnson, Tom Culp, owner of Birch Point Consulting in Wisconsin, insisted windows are significant factors in electric bills. 'For a typical home, the window area is less than 10 percent of the overall shell,' he told CNET. 'But the Department of Energy has estimated that windows can account for up to 50 percent of the energy that flows in and out of the home.' Ultimately, blinds or shades are what provide an 'insulating layer' to block some of the heat, especially at night. For anyone who cannot live without an open curtain, a Reddit user claimed black curtains could also lower electric bills. 'Utilizing blackout curtains have helped lower ambient temperature inside the house, reduce light/UV,' the homeowner wrote. 'By regulating the temp it allows the AC to not have to work as hard and in turn use less energy.' Because of this trick, they managed to bring their utility bill down $50 after spending over $200 the month before. Johnson revealed that smart thermostats can also make all the difference in the world when cooling homes. While some of them are on the pricey side, the thermostats can be a real money saver in the summertime. 'You can get an app on your phone that shows you, you know, sets your temperature to whatever temperature you need it to be while you're home,' Johnson told Fox 17. 'A lot of people, unnecessarily, are cooling their homes when they're away, right? So we encourage people to turn your thermostat up a couple of degrees when you're not at home, so that you're not using electricity and air conditioning unnecessarily.' This year, Consumers is charging 23 cents per kilowatt-hour on weekdays between 2pm and 7pm —a significant jump from the typical flat rate of around 15 cents. Outside those peak hours, the rate drops to about 18 cents per kilowatt-hour. If closing curtains and new thermostats aren't enough, the expert advised homeowners to look into Consumers Energy's Critical Peak Pricing Program. The program allows this company's customers to receive credits for every unused kilowatt-hour of energy during high-demand time frames. 'You'll never have to pay more by participating in the program if you don't tone down your usage during those peak times,' he said. Other companies may offer similar plans depending on location and electricity usage.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Thousands lose power around West Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Thousands of customers around West Michigan lost power Saturday afternoon. The Consumers Energy Power map showed that there were around 7,000 outages across Allegan County, mostly concentrated in the Saugatuck and Douglas area, though service had been restored to most by around 6:30 p.m. Farther north along the lakeshore in Muskegon County, there were hundreds of people without power in the Fruitland Township and White Lake area. There are also pockets of outages around Kent County, including one near downtown that affected about 1,500 customers. As of 7 p.m., Kent County had more than 1,000 customers without power. Consumers Energy told News 8 that high winds and storms from Saturday morning were contributing factors to the outages. It said it had 200 crews working on restoration across the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
19-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Michigan, environmental groups challenge federal order to keep power plant open
Environmental groups and Michigan's attorney general filed separate challenges Wednesday against a federal order that is keeping a coal-fired power plant open this summer. The environmental coalition said there is no energy emergency that would justify keeping Consumers Energy's J.H. Campbell plant alive in Ottawa County, near Lake Michigan. The U.S. Energy Department "has no authority to compel Consumers to rehabilitate — and effectively reconstruct — the increasingly unreliable plant, nor to override the state's and utility's decision to replace the plant with less expensive and cleaner sources," the 54-page petition says. Consumers Energy had planned to close the power station by May 31 as part of a transition to cleaner energy. But the Energy Department intervened just days earlier, saying the plant must remain open, at least until late August, because of possible electricity shortfalls in the central U.S. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, known as MISO, manages the flow of electricity in 15 U.S. states and Manitoba in Canada. MISO has said there should be enough electricity this summer, though it cited the potential for "elevated risk" during extreme weather. "This type of order is fairly unprecedented," lawyer Shannon Fisk of Earthjustice said. "It's a fabricated emergency." The Energy Department defended its position. "This administration is committed to ensuring Americans have access to reliable, affordable and secure energy that isn't dependent on whether the sun shines or the wind blows," spokesperson Ben Dietderich said. Consumers Energy said it is complying with the order, noting that the first coal delivery arrived before the planned May 31 decommissioning. It is unclear whether the challenges by Attorney General Dana Nessel and environmental groups would be settled by the end of August when the order expires. Fisk said the order could be extended. A lawsuit also could be pursued. In Pennsylvania, an oil and gas plant was also ordered to keep its turbines running as a hedge against electricity shortages in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid. The Eddystone Generating Station is just south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River.
CBS News
19-06-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
More than 8,000 Southeast Michigan customers remain without power in aftermath of Wednesday's storms
More than 8,000 Southeast Michigan customers remained without power Thursday morning in the aftermath of storms that brought heavy rain, high winds and at least one tornado to the region. No injuries were reported from the storms. Most southeast Michigan electricity customers get their electricity from DTE Energy, which is showing over 8,000 outage reports on its online maps. Only a few outages for southeast Michigan were shown on the Consumers Energy online map. The site, which curates power outage numbers against state and county maps, also showed 8,053 outages across Southeast Michigan, with most of that number in Wayne and Oakland counties. The National Weather Service plans to do a storm survey Thursday, but has confirmed that a tornado touched down near 14 Mile Road in Macomb County Wednesday afternoon. The damage in the Fraser area includes downed trees and some flooding. With that, Michigan has had 29 tornadoes so far in 2025, the sixth highest in the state's history. June is usually the peak time of tornado weather in Southeast Michigan. Looking ahead, a heat wave is in the forecast. Closings and reschedulings Because of the federal holiday of Juneteenth, some banks and many government offices including the Michigan Secretary of State branches were already expected to be closed for the day on Thursday. The Detroit Tigers will host a double header Thursday with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as Wednesday's game was canceled due to the weather situation. St. Clair Shores Parks and Recreation canceled Wednesday's Music on the Lake concert and plans to reschedule. And Birmingham's Summer Concert in the park for Wednesday was canceled.
