Publish Date: February 14, 2017
Michigan faces challenges in the coming years, including a projected 2,000 megawatt (MW) increase summer peak demand in the Lower Peninsula from 2017-2026. In Michigan, as in many states, demand for electricity can spike during just a few hours a year.
Typically, 10 percent of our electric system capacity is built to meet demand in just 1 percent of hours during the year. This comes at a significant cost to consumers. Resource constraints in the Lower Peninsula are largely driven by weather, making peak demand events predictable — and therefore good candidates for management.