We know already this about the electric power grid for our region per the words of the Zeeland Board of Public Works website: “Our region is at an elevated risk of “insufficient operating reserves in above-normal conditions” according to a report released by the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC). This projected deficiency is due to contributing factors such as predicted above-average temperatures and aging or recently retired thermal resources. Therefore, in times of extreme electric demand with all other options exhausted, MISO may direct the Zeeland BPW and neighboring utilities to implement load-shedding.” One reason a 2-tier price structure charging more at certain peak energy times was put in place a few years ago was one method to try to avert grid problems, even though it is unnecessary if we had a sound energy policy. Since this is the case, it is important to know the cause of every power outage in the county by Consumers Energy in order to ascertain if the cause is load shedding. *If* there is any load shedding, it is important to know how certain areas are being selected for load shedding. Also, *if* there is any load shedding this year, how bad are things going to get in the future when the Campbell and other coal plants in the MISO region grid are closed?
Just to take one example outage in Jenison-Hudsonville, on 6/22/2024 there was a power outage, yet there appears to be no official publicly stated cause of the outage, such as per this Wood TV report updated at 5:06 am on 6/23/2024: “By midnight Sunday, the map showed one outage had been resolved, but the other remained. As of 5 a.m., power has been restored. A spokesperson for Consumers previously told News 8 that crews are still investigating the cause of the outages, but they don’t believe the outages are linked to storm damage.” WZZM 13 similarly reported cause as unknown: ” Around 4,300 people are without power in the Hudsonville area on Saturday, according to the Consumers Energy Outage Map. The two outages were both reported around 5:30 p.m., the map shows. The cause of the outages is currently unknown. 13 ON YOUR SIDE has reached out to Consumers Energy for more information. They told us power should be restored between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Sunday. ” Consumers Energy evidently had a good idea when power would be restored but did not indicate the cause.
Here is what someone posted on Facebook group Hudsonville Informed on 6/27/2024 as another example:
“Why does the power keep going out randomly? First last week Saturday and now again?!”
Here is what another Hudsonville resident responded, among a number reporting the same issue:
“Agreed! My house has under ground wires so we don’t lose power from storms. In 9 years we’ve only lost power 3 times- last night, Saturday and sometime in March. Before that we have never lost power.”
Below was the Consumers Energy email to this example resident with power outage:
It may very well have nothing to do with load shedding, but it is important to know the cause of each outage and what is being done so as much as possible it can be prevented from repeating.