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JACKSON, MI – An internal investigation has revealed that the automatic release of natural gas combined with high winds and very hot equipment has caused a serious fire in Consumers Energy's natural gas storage facility.
Consumers issued a statement on Friday, April 5 about its findings after a two-month investigation. The Michigan Public Service Commission is investigating what happened.
The consumer fire highlights recurring gas safety issues in Michigan, according to a regulator
Recent events have "intensified" the concerns of the commission.
Consumers collaborated with a third party consultant during the investigation.
The fire at the Macomb County Radiation Compression Station has caused a possible shortage of natural gas. The station holds 64% of the consumer offer. Record temperatures were recorded in the state that week, resulting in a record demand for natural gas.
The Michiganders responded to the call and reduced their gasoline consumption by 10% after their emergency plea
The reduction was needed to avoid heat cuts, consumer officials said.
Natural gas was released by a fire-stop system because the signal to the system had been interrupted due to a failure of the grounding, said Katie Carey, director of media relations, in a statement. email. This automatically triggered the release of the gas. The cause of the ground fault and the resulting signal interruption is still under investigation, Carey said.
"The Consumers Energy review did not reveal any evidence of inadequate maintenance of our equipment," the statement said.
The fire stop system is designed as a safety measure allowing natural gas to dissipate into the atmosphere, rather than causing a potential fire indoors in case of emergency.
That day, the cold and the wind kept the natural gas just above the chimney. The mixture with the air created the flammable plume, which then spread to the nearby plant and set off the fire, Carey said.
"In extreme and extreme weather conditions, the process has become dangerous," the statement said. "We plan to resolve the problem at the Ray Compressor Station and implement new procedures in our natural gas fleet to further improve resiliency and prevent outages in these exceptional circumstances."
Consumers Energy Super Bowl Advertisement Thanks Michiganders for Reducing Heat
The ad was not broadcast nationally, but only for viewers in the Lower Peninsula, said Katie Carey, director of media relations.
The Michiganders were asked to lower their thermostats to 65 degrees via an emergency message sent by a government through a phone and a late night video of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Nearly 100 companies stopped production to save natural gas and customers reduced their use by 10%. The heat cuts in homes and businesses could have resulted without the combined savings, said Consumers executives.
Correction: The title of an earlier version of this story indicated that fuel failures had caused breakdowns. The failures were actually avoided after the customers had answered the call to lower their thermostats.
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