Recent Updates

A major maintenance and upgrade of the Ludington pumped storage plant will result in a significant investment in northwest Michigan.

Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison, which co-own the plant, will invest about $40 million a year for 10 years in the project, which will create 100 construction building trades jobs annually for six years and increase the plant’s generating capacity by 16 percent.

The company operates and owns 51 percent of the plant, which has provided Michigan electric customers with reliable, low-cost electricity since 1973. Detroit Edison owns 49 percent of the facility.

The project, which will increase the generating capacity of the plant from its current level of 1,872 megawatts (MW) to about 2,172 MW, includes a major contract with Toshiba International Corp.

Toshiba, a global leader in electric generator technology, will fabricate and install equipment to increase the efficiency, output and reliability of the plant’s 312-megawatt hydroelectric units.

“This major investment will enhance the capability of the plant, increase the clean energy in Michigan, continue to generate cost-competitive power for our customers and optimize the Ludington facility for the growth of renewable energy in Michigan,” said John Russell Consumers Energy president and chief executive officer.

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) congratulated the company and Detroit Edison on the upcoming maintenance and upgrade of the plant.

“Projects like Ludington demonstrate how the hydropower industry can grow sustainably by increasing efficiency and adding generating capacity at existing facilities,” said Linda Church Ciocci, NHA’s executive director.

“With the right policies in place and with projects like Ludington in the pipeline, the U.S. could add 60,000 megawatts of new hydro capacity by 2025 and meet 20 percent of President Obama’s 80-percent clean energy goal by 2035.”

Consumers Energy recently launched the redesign of its energy optimization website at www.consumersenergy.com/eeprograms.

The new site features user-friendly navigation and includes residential and business energy efficiency rebates and incentives for 2011.

The rebates benefit customers who buy energy-efficient furnaces, air conditioners and appliances, and make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes and businesses.

In 2009, Consumers Energy launched energy optimization programs to help residential, commercial and industrial customers use electricity and natural gas more efficiently.

The programs support the company’s Balanced Energy Initiative, a comprehensive plan to meet the power needs of 1.8 million customers over the next 20 years.

The energy optimization programs also represent an expected $572 million investment over the next five years to help customers lower their bills and reduce their carbon footprints while also helping create more Michigan jobs.

Customers who took advantage of the company’s energy efficiency measures in 2009 and 2010 saved an estimated 389,000 megawatt-hours of electricity and 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas in first-year savings alone.
 

President and chief executive officer John Russell (right) and Mike Lambregste, a General Motors fleet account executive, stand next to a Chevrolet Volt, which was recently named the 2011 North American Car of the Year. The Volt is a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) which is "fueled" by electricity and travels up to 40 miles on battery power alone. This model recently was delivered to the company's headquarters in Jackson, Mich. The company plans to buy three Volts for its fleet this spring.