JACKSON ((WKZO AM/FM) — Michiganders can turn their heat back up.
Consumers Energy CEO Patti Poppe says their appeal to corporate users and customers to cut back use reduced demand by about 10%, which was enough to avoid any problems.
A fire at a distribution station in Macomb County put a crimp into the supply on Wednesday at a time when the utility had been on a record pace for gas usage in Michigan, because of the extreme cold.
That prompted the emergency and voluntary appeal for companies to cancel shifts and homeowners to dial down the heat.
The ATF, State Police fire investigators, local fire marshals and the company are all looking into what caused the fire in Macomb County and Governor Gretchen Whitmer is demanding reports and contingency plans to avoid any repeat.
It’s still brutally cold outside but not as dangerously cold as it was on Thursday.
Forecasters say the vortex is on its way out and as it scoots to the east, we could see temperatures as high as 50 and face yet another problem, flooding as all the snow that fell on Monday melts at once.
—ORIGINAL STORY—
JACKSON, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Consumers Energy has issued an appeal for everyone to turn down their thermostats to 65 degrees over lower through 10 a.m. Friday, because of an incident at a natural gas distribution point in Macomb County that has put a crimp in their system.
A fire that began at their Ray Natural Gas Compressor Station at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and they were still fighting to contain hours later, has apparently resulted in a shortage of natural gas in the system at a time when it’s needed the most.
Consumers CEO Patti Poppe says they have managed to talk some large corporate customers into shutting down, and when state Government workers report back to work Friday, they are going to find that the thermostats have been turned down 5 to10 degrees.
But she says that it’s not enough and they need homeowners to also turn down their thermostats to assure that Hospitals and other critical facilities like senior citizens homes don’t run out.
You can view the full video at this link.
