JACKSON, Mich. — As of a result of an "unexpected incident" as a gas compression station in Southeast Michigan Wednesday morning, Consumers Energy is asking customers to reduce their natural gas usage.

"We are asking customers to temporarily reduce gas usage at this time while we continue to contain the incident and help keep Michigan residents warm during this cold spell,” said Garrick Rochow, Senior Vice President of Operations for Consumers Energy.

A fire involving equipment at Consumers Energy’s Ray Natural Gas Compressor Station occurred in Macomb County at 10:33 a.m. Wednesday. The fire is being contained and there were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation. All gas flow from the compressor station has been shut down until safety and damage assessments can be completed.

Consumers Energy is activating natural gas peaking storage fields in Northville and St. Clair to help deliver natural gas to their customers. Natural gas is stored underground and reserved in these fields, which are activated when energy demand requires it. In addition, the company has reached out to its largest business customers to reduce gas usage while they continue to investigate the incident.

Residents and businesses can reduce gas usage by doing the following:

LOOK AT THERMOSTAT SETTINGS: Save energy while staying warm by setting your heat to a lower temperature. Use your programmable thermostat to set your heat at 65 degrees when you are home and 62 degrees when you are away for less than 5 hours.

BUSINESS REDUCTION OF PROCESSES: The company is also encouraging industrial and business customers to temporarily reduce processes.

SEAL & SHUT WINDOWS AND DOORS: Check for leaks in your windows and doors by feeling around for cool air. Also, please ensure all windows and doors are closed tightly.

For more information or tips, visit: www.consumersenergy.com/coldweather

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Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. </s> RAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS Detroit/ AP) – After a fire at a gas compressor station in Macomb County, Consumers Energy is asking customers to reduce their use of natural gas today.

Consumers says all gas flow from the station was shut off, and it activated natural gas peaking storage fields to help meet the demand for gas to heat homes and businesses.

Residents and businesses can reduce gas usage by doing the following:



LOOK AT THERMOSTAT SETTINGS: Save energy while staying warm by setting your heat to a lower temperature. Use your programmable thermostat to set your heat at 65 degrees when you are home and 62 degrees when you are away for less than 5 hours.

BUSINESS REDUCTION OF PROCESSES: The company is also encouraging industrial and business customers to temporarily reduce processes.

SEAL & SHUT WINDOWS AND DOORS: Check for leaks in your windows and doors by feeling around for cool air. Also, please ensure all windows and doors are closed tightly.

© 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Consumers Energy is asking residents to continue conserving natural gas by keeping thermostats at 65 degrees through Friday.

The company says that Michigan residents have been conserving gas since their request on Wednesday and the State of Michigan’s alert Wednesday night. Conservation by residents who receive their gas service from companies other than Consumers Energy is also helpful and has been making a difference. They say they are “cautiously optimistic” that the requests to reduce gas use are having a positive effect.

A fire broke out Wednesday morning at the Ray Compressor Station in Macomb County. That station is now partially in service and repairs at the facility are continuing.

The call for conservation is in effect through Friday, February 1. </s> JACKSON, MI – It seemed like an absurd request, but Michiganders responded, and may have prevented heat shutoffs for Consumers Energy customers.

Despite extreme temperatures overnight, natural gas usage dropped 10 percent after the Jackson-based utility issued a late-night plea and the state sent emergency text messages asking customers across Michigan to turn their thermostats down to 65 degrees, Consumers executives said.

The reduction was enough to avoid the threat of heat interruptions, executives said in a press conference Thursday, Jan. 31.

Still, customers are asked to keep natural gas usage down until 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 1.

"We may never know that you took the action that we requested, because we monitor at a system level," President and CEO Patti Poppe said. "But we will forever be grateful that you did."

No heat interruptions yet, but Consumers Energy still asks Michigan to keep thermostats at 65

The combination of record-cold temperatures and a fire at Consumers' largest storage and delivery facility caused the shortage.

All Consumers buildings were turned down to 58 degrees and all state-owned facilities in the Lower Peninsula lowered thermostats by 5 degrees. Besides individuals turning down their heat, 79 companies across the state worked with Consumers to reduce their usage.

"As part of our arrangements and our contracts, we requested that they curtail their load and forgo their production schedules," Poppe said. "And they did."

The Macomb County Ray Compressor Station holds 64 percent of Consumers' natural gas. All three plants at the station were shut down for the fire, but one is back up and running and the other will be back on soon, officials said.

While Consumers Energy doesn’t cover the entire state, Poppe said it’s important for all Michiganders to reduce natural gas usage, because the system is interconnected.

Poppe said Thursday morning she was "cautiously optimistic" about the utility's ability to avoid heat interruptions. The company is sorry and disappointed in what's happened, she said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Consumers has made “significant investments” to the facility in recent years, so Poppe said she’s not attributing the fire to aging infrastructure.

"I understand that people are angry about this. I would be too. We plan for these extreme conditions," Poppe said. "The unplanned fire at our major facility, we were not prepared for that."

Demand for natural gas from Consumers broke records Wednesday and Thursday. On a typical winter day, 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas move across the state, Poppe said. The previous record was 3.0 billion cubic feet, until 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas was used Wednesday.

Consumers forecasted 3.7 million cubic feet of gas needed for Thursday, with temperatures dropping to more than 10 degrees below zero in many locations.

“In our 130 years, we’ve never experienced this kind of demand or these kinds of temperatures,” Poppe said. </s> Record-breaking cold from the polar vortex, combined with a fire at a gas compressor station in Michigan, is causing utility companies in the Midwest to ask customers to turn thermostats down, even as bitter conditions drag on.

The blaze at the Consumers Energy natural gas compressor station north of Detroit on Wednesday prompted Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to ask all residents in the Lower Peninsula part of the state to lower thermostats to 65 degrees or below through Friday.

"I’m coming to you now to ask for your help," she said in a statement. "Due to extremely high demand for natural gas with these record low temperatures and a facility incident, Consumers Energy has asked that everyone who is able to turn down their thermostats through Friday at noon so we can all get through this with minimal harm."

No one was injured in the fire Wednesday at Consumers Energy's Ray Natural Gas Compressor Station in Macomb County. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The company said all gas flow from the station was shut off, and that it activated natural gas peaking storage fields to help meet demand for gas to heat homes and businesses.

Consumers Energy's CEO Patti Poppe made an appeal Wednesday night for customers to reduce their natural gas usage. Localized outages were possible for some homes and businesses if demand isn't reduced.

An emergency alert was sent late Wednesday to cellphones asking people to lower thermostats, and Consumers Energy asked its largest business customers, such as automakers, to reduce natural gas usage.

Consumers Energy said in a statement Thursday that it's "cautiously optimistic" its requests to curb natural gas use are "having a positive effect."

"However, with Thursday’s continued historically cold weather, we ask that conservation measures continue through the end of the day Friday, Feb. 1," the company said.

The incident caused General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler to either close or reduce shifts Thursday morning at certain plants to help conserve gas usage, FOX2 reported.

Similar requests were made in Minnesota, where utility Xcel Energy asked all its customers in the state to reduce their thermostats to 63 degrees due to a natural gas shortage in parts of the state.

The utility said Thursday it was asking people to keep reducing thermostats until at least 9 a.m. on Thursday.

"This step can help ensure that all of our customers continue to have gas service during this bitterly cold weather," Xcel said.

The company made the announcement just hours after first asking residents in the Princeton, Minn. area to do the same after a shortage was reported on Wednesday, according to FOX9.

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At least 10 people -- including a college student and Indiana police officer -- are dead as a result of the bitter, record-breaking deep freeze brought on by the polar vortex that's slammed the Midwest most of the week.

Though the National Weather Service said temperatures will "slowly begin to moderate," the bone-chilling cold on Thursday still shuttered schools and caused the U.S. Postal Service to suspend mail delivery in several states.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> Consumers Energy officials today thanked homeowners and business operators who responded for calls to turn down thermostats in an effort to conserve natural gas due a gas shortage caused by a fire and frigid weather.

Auto plants and other big energy users throughout Southeast Michigan shut down or limited operations. At least 18 factories and other facilities run by General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler were affected Thursday.

The fire broke out at a Consumers Energy natural gas compressor station in Macomb County's Armada Township on Wednesday as record-cold temperatures swept over the region.

Consumers Energy CEO Patricia Poppe said the reduction efforts appear to be paying off.

"Every Michigander who turned down that thermostat could make a difference to the total system," Poppe said today. "Everybody's reduction in use made a difference across the entire state."

Consumers Energy said in a statement Thursday that it's "cautiously optimistic" its requests to curb natural gas use are "having a positive effect."

Poppe made an appeal Wednesday night for customers to reduce their natural gas usage. Localized outages were possible for some homes and businesses if demand isn't reduced.

An emergency alert was sent late Wednesday to cellphones asking people to lower thermostats to 65 degrees or below through Friday. And Consumers Energy asked its largest business customers, such as automakers, to reduce natural gas usage.

Natural gas customers are asked to continue conservation efforts through Friday morning.

The cause of Wednesday's fire at the utility's station on Omo Road near 32 Mile remains under investigation, utility officials said. Repairs are ongoing, but crews have been able to restore service at one of three plants at the facility.

The utility says gas flow from the station was shut off Wednesday, putting Michigan residents at risk of brief service interruptions in subzero temperatures.

Fiat Chrysler closed its truck assembly plants in Warren and Sterling Heights, Michigan, while Ford reduced operations at two transmission factories and a plant that stamps parts for the hot-selling Ford Ranger small pickup near Detroit. Ranger production was unaffected for now. General Motors was hit much harder, suspending operations at factories in Flint, Lansing, Saginaw, Pontiac, Orion Township and Bay City, Michigan. The Flint plant is gearing up for the launch of new heavy-duty pickup trucks. Even General Motors' sprawling technical center in Warren, Michigan, north of Detroit, was closed and its roughly 20,000 employees were told to stay home. About 30,000 employees were affected at GM alone. Only factories served by Jackson, Michigan-based Consumers Energy were affected. Plants powered by the region's other utility, DTE Energy, had no disruptions. Automakers were hoping that the plants can return to normal operations as temperatures moderate on Saturday and into next week, but they weren't sure when that will happen. If the natural gas shortage lasts only a few days, the economic impact of the shutdowns is likely to be small. Automakers usually can make up for lost production days by increasing assembly line speeds, but if the plants are closed or limited for a long time, that gets harder. Workers will get paid even though their buildings are closed. "We are assessing the impact on our operations, but we expect the impact will be minimal. We will do what is right for our customers, our employees and our communities - recognizing our priority has been to support the urgent energy needs across the state," GM spokeswoman Kimberly Carpenter said in a statement. Other businesses also have been affected. Spartan Motors, which makes emergency and other large vehicles, suspended manufacturing in Charlotte, Michigan, near Lansing, idling about 800 workers. It plans to resume work on Sunday evening. Dart Container Corp., switched natural gas boilers to oil and curtailed some operations near Lansing that use natural gas. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also appeared in a video online Wednesday night and said the request to lower thermostats was for those in the Lower Peninsula. Temperatures in the state were at their lowest levels of the week, with readings around negative 12 degrees in the Detroit area and at bitterly cold levels statewide. </s> • Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made a Wednesday night plea to citizens: Turn down natural gas-powered thermostats to 65° or lower until Friday at noon.
• The request comes as the Midwest is gripped by freezing temperatures caused by a polar vortex.
• Earlier on Wednesday there was an “unexpected incident” at a gas compressor station in Southeast Michigan in Macomb County, according to Consumers Energy.
• “We understand the timing of our request is not ideal given today’s cold temperatures, however, without additional reductions, we run the risk of not being able to deliver natural gas to families and critical facilities across Michigan – a scenario none of us want to encounter,” Consumers Energy tweeted on Wednesday night.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made a Wednesday night plea to citizens: Turn natural gas-powered thermostats to 65 degrees or lower until Friday at noon.

The ask comes as the Midwest is gripped by freezing temperatures caused by a polar vortex.

“I’m coming to you now to ask for your help,” the lawmaker said in a video statement. “Due to extremely high demand for natural gas with these record low temperatures and a facility incident, Consumers Energy has asked that everyone who is able to turn down their thermostats through Friday at noon so we can all get through this with minimal harm.”

Earlier on Wednesday there was an “unexpected incident” at a gas compressor station in Southeast Michigan, according to Consumers Energy. A fire at the compressor station means that “all gas flow from the compressor station has been shut in until safety and damage assessments can be completed.”

Following the incident, Consumers Energy began asking both business and residential consumers to “temporarily reduce gas usage” to keep all citizens warm during the polar vortex.

“We understand the timing of our request is not ideal given today’s cold temperatures, however, without additional reductions, we run the risk of not being able to deliver natural gas to families and critical facilities across Michigan – a scenario none of us want to encounter,” Consumers Energy tweeted on Wednesday night.

“The term polar vortex describes the mass of low-pressure cold air that circulates in the stratosphere above the Arctic and Antarctic regions,” Business Insider’s Aylin Woodward explains (in a very helpful piece). “Sometimes the circulation of the polar vortex weakens during the winter, causing surges of frigid air to splinter off and drift south.”

Since Saturday, the cold weather has been blamed for around a dozen deaths in “Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota,” Reuters reports. The dangerously cold temperatures have led to flights and train services being cancelled, along with the closure of schools, businesses, and non-essential government entities.

At the time of writing it was minus-13 degrees Farenheit, in Lansing, Michigan, by Friday the high is expected to be 18 degrees Farenheit – and at noon, residents will be able to turn up their heat. Until then Michiganders are being asked to do their part.

“You can play a role in helping people across the state survive these extreme temperatures,” Whitmer said. “Please do. We’re calling on every Michigander to do your part and help us weather this storm together.”

Resources for Michigan residents combatting the cold can be found here and here. </s> General Motors is temporarily halting operations at 11 Michigan assembly plants and its Warren Tech Center campus after Consumers Energy urgently asked users to conserve their natural gas, reports Reuters. The utility reportedly ran into supply issues due to the record-breaking frigid winter temperatures as well as a fire at a compressor station in Macomb County.

As of Wednesday evening, GM employees were told to stay home from its assembly plants in Orion, Flint, Lansing Delta Township, Lansing Grand River, and a number of other stamping and transmission plants. Warren Tech Center employees are also taking the day off. The automaker has not announced when work would resume but Consumers Energy is asking Michiganers to cut back on the natural gas use until at least the end of the workweek.

In a Facebook post, the energy provider says it's "cautiously optimistic" that its calls for conservation are helping the cause and the Macomb County compressor station is now partially in service. </s> The deep freeze is putting gas and power grids to the test.

In the midst of some of the coldest temperatures in years, utility companies in parts of the upper Midwest have asked customers to turn down their thermostats to ensure that there's enough natural gas to go around.

Ahead of the plunge, grid operators throughout the Midwest had said they were prepared. But this cold snap will be a big test of the resiliency of the energy grid, reports the trade publication E&E News. "The event will be a test of the bulk power system's resilience, and especially the ability of coal, natural gas and wind generation to deliver power when called upon."

In Michigan, Consumers Energy — which serves 1.8 million residents — asked customers to set the temperature to 65 degrees or less until noon on Friday. In a Facebook Live video, CEO Patti Poppe pleaded with residents to do their part. The low temperatures created "record-breaking demand" for natural gas. The system worked perfectly, she said, until a fire broke out at a major natural gas compressor station Wednesday morning, making it harder to deliver gas to customers.

If customers ignored the request, they could be in for brief, localized shutoffs, the Detroit News reported. "This truly is an unprecedented crisis," Poppe said. "We have never been in this situation before."

General Motors said it would suspend operations at more than 11 plants, and asked 20,000 employees at its Warren Tech Center to stay home through Friday, according to Crain's Detroit Business. And Ford Motor Co. said it would lower the temperature at some plants and stop heat treatment and paint production, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"I'm asking that you please, tonight, turn down your thermostat," Governor Gretchen Whitmer echoed in an online video, citing the Consumers Energy request. "Every one of us can play a role in making sure that we get through this with minimal harm. We're calling on every Michigander to do your part and to help us weather this storm together."

Late Wednesday night, "cell phones chimed with an emergency alert" again asking customers to lower their heat to 65 or less, reported Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton.

DTE Energy, which provides electricity to millions of customers in southeast Michigan, also asked customers to reduce their electricity usage. "While DTE's plants are running well, our system is connected to energy grids in other states and Canada that are experiencing issues due to the extreme weather," said Christy Wicke, executive director of generation optimization. "Because of this, we are asking for your support to ensure everyone can stay warm."

In Minnesota, Xcel Energy asked customers statewide to keep the heat to 63 degrees or lower through Thursday morning. About 150 customers had already lost natural gas service, and Xcel offered to put them up in hotels, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The storm is recreating conditions similar to the 2014 Polar Vortex, trade publication Utility Dive reports. That weather event is often used by Trump administration officials to justify its proposed grid resilience rule, "which would provide cost recovery to plants that keep 90 days of fuel supplies onsite," Utility Drive said.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which monitors the energy grid across parts of the U.S. and Canada, had warned operators to be ready for frigid temperatures from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, trade publication RTO Insider reported. The arctic blast even knocked out power to MISO's offices on Wednesday. MISO declared a "Maximum Generation Event" for Thursday morning, "stirring to life idle power plants from Minnesota to Louisiana to meet demand," the Star Tribune reported.
After a fire at a Consumers Energy natural gas compressor station, Michigan residents are asked to turn down their heat to conserve natural gas.