JACKSON, Mich., May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumers Energy
unveiled today its Balanced Energy Initiative, a comprehensive plan to meet
the energy needs of its 1.8 million electric customers over the next 20
years.
The Balanced Energy Initiative calls for meeting the growing customer
demand for electricity with energy efficiency, demand management, expanding
the use of renewable energy, and developing new power plants, along with
utilizing existing generating sources.
The utility's plan is designed to help maintain affordable and reliable
supplies of electricity for Michigan's families and businesses. The
Balanced Energy Initiative outlines potential investments in major new
power plants, offering significant economic development benefits. Chief
among those benefits is the creation of thousands of good-paying
construction jobs for skilled trades workers, followed by the creation of
hundreds of jobs for highly skilled workers to operate and maintain the
power plants.
Consumers Energy filed the Balanced Energy Initiative with the Michigan
Public Service Commission (MPSC). The initiative was developed in response
to the 21st Century Energy Plan issued earlier this year by the MPSC
chairman, J. Peter Lark.
"The 21st Century Energy Plan recognized that customers in Michigan are
using more electricity every year and if we don't act now the state won't
have enough power to meet its needs in a few years," said John Russell, the
president and chief operating officer of Consumers Energy.
"The 21st Century Energy Plan and the Balanced Energy Initiative both
recognize that legislative and regulatory changes are needed in Michigan so
the new power plants needed to serve customers can be financed and built,"
he said, adding that the state's electric choice law would have to be
repealed or significantly reformed before Consumers Energy could fully
implement the Balanced Energy Initiative.
Parts of the Balanced Energy Initiative, such as energy efficiency and
demand management programs, could be launched fairly quickly, but it can
take up to 10 years to bring a baseload power plant online to serve
customers and the customer demand for electricity continues to grow,
Russell said.
For example, customers set an all-time peak demand record last August
of 8,883 megawatts. That customer demand level exceeded the previous record
by 4.8 percent.
"As a state, we need to have this discussion now and start working on a
variety of fronts to make sure Michigan's families and businesses will have
the power they need in the future," Russell said.
"We need to make sure we have policies that allow for a balance of
energy sources and strategies, including energy efficiency and renewable
energy."
The highlights of the Balanced Energy Initiative are:
-- Endorses the 21st Century Energy Plan position that all customers in
the state can benefit from a well-designed, cost-effective, energy
efficiency program. Consumers Energy believes the 21st Century Energy
Plan target for reduction via energy efficiency is very aggressive and
won't be achieved without strong involvement by the state's utilities.
-- Demand management programs that would let customers volunteer to help
lower power peaks by allowing limited interruptions to their air
conditioning and continuing existing interruptible service programs.
-- Supplement Consumers Energy's successful Green Generation program so
renewable energy makes up 10 percent of the electricity that the
utility's customers use. It's now 5 percent.
-- Adding about 500 megawatts of gas-fired combined cycle capacity by 2011
by purchasing an existing facility or building a new facility.
-- Constructing a new 750 megawatt clean coal generating facility on an
existing Consumers Energy site and have it in operation in 2015. The
expectation is that municipal utilities or other parties would own 250
megawatts of that plant, which would use state-of-the-art emissions
controls.
-- Preserving the option to build a second coal unit to take advantage of
the economies of scale from building two units and to accommodate the
interests of other parties interested in sharing new capacity.
Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, provides
natural gas and electricity to nearly 6.5 million of Michigan's 10 million
residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
For more information about Consumers Energy, visit our Website at
http://www.consumersenergy.com
SOURCE Consumers Energy
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.consumersenergy.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/203850.html/
CONTACT:
Jeff Holyfield, +1-517-788-2394, or Dan
Bishop, +1-517-788-2395, both of Consumers Energy
|
