CROTON, Mich., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers Energy celebrates
today a combined 175 years of service to customers by two landmark Muskegon
River hydroelectric generating facilities.
"The Rogers Dam has been a reliable generator of renewable electricity
for Consumers Energy customers for 100 years and the Hardy Dam isn't far
behind at 75 years. The Rogers and Hardy Dams continue to provide customers
renewable power today, just as they did for most of the 20th century," said
Robert A. Fenech, Consumers Energy's senior vice president of nuclear,
fossil and hydro operations.
Consumers Energy was a pioneer in the development of hydroelectric
power early in the 20th century and also was a leader in the long-distance
transmission of high-voltage electricity from the dams to cities such as
Grand Rapids.
Located just south of Big Rapids in Mecosta County's Mecosta Township,
Rogers Dam was completed in 1906, destroyed by fire in 1921 and rebuilt in
1922. The rebuilt dam's generators in 1922 put out 7,200 volts, stepped up
by transformers to 72,000 volts, the highest voltage in use anywhere in the
world at that time.
Today the electricity generated at Rogers Dam is transmitted at 46,000
volts. Rogers Dam can generate up to 6,750 kilowatts of electricity, enough
to serve a community of 3,700 people.
The Hardy Dam began operation in 1931. It received the American Society
of Civil Engineers' Historic Civil Engineering Landmark award in 1992 and
was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 1997.
It can generate up to 30,000 kilowatts of electricity, enough to serve a
community of 16,600 people. Hardy Dam is located in Newaygo County's Big
Prairie Township.
Consumers Energy's 13 hydroelectric dams have the capacity to generate
132 megawatts of electricity at facilities on the Au Sable, Manistee,
Muskegon, Grand and Kalamazoo rivers. Reservoirs created by the dams
provide recreational opportunities; nearly 30,000 acres of Consumers Energy
land adjacent to the dams are open to the public.
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
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