The first time I ever went to Disney World, it was as an adult. Two years ago to be precise. I understand why kids are in love with it. It truly is a magical place.
Do you want to know something crazy about Disney World? They process an average of 80,000 pounds of garbage per day. Per day! They do that with a system of tubes underground that move trash from drop-off points to a central location where it is then removed from the park. The magic? It all happens without most people even noticing all the infrastructure that goes into it.
I sometimes think what we do here at the co-op seems like magic, too. It takes a lot of infrastructure and hard work to keep the lights on across our six-county service territory. Many people are surprised to hear just how much infrastructure we own.
Here’s our system at a glance:
- 16 substations (delivery points from the big grid)
- 39,089 meters
- 35,520 poles
- 12,508 pole mount transformers (the canisters that hang from the poles)
- 7,340 pad mount transformers (the green boxes in your yard)
- 7,041 pad mount cabinets
- 1,622 miles of overhead lines
- 1,596 miles of underground lines
- 255 system control devices
There’s more, but I think you get the idea. Every single item between you and the substation has to work seamlessly all the time for you to have electricity at the flip of a switch. Magic, right?
While we’ve been diligent with our routine maintenance and system upgrades, there’s also another reliability superhero operating behind the scenes—our controls system. At the heart of that technology is the software and hardware system we use to gather data about system operations and manage the grid from our office.
Put simply, this system allows us to catch problems before they become outages and restore outages more efficiently.
This year, we are investing in a new supervisory control system. This is a big project, one that will take us most of the year to complete. It’s also a big investment. But, once implemented, it will improve our ability to deliver even better service to you.
Things like our technology systems and our basic equipment listed above all have to work every single time you want to flip the switch and turn on the lights in your house. When we do it right, you don’t even notice the magic happening around you.
Like those Disney employees keeping the parks clean from underground, we take a lot of pride in the fact that you don’t have to think too much about how electricity gets to your door. But, I hope you’ll agree that our lives are greatly improved by the modern marvel that is the electric grid system. It may not be the most magical thing on Earth, but it’s surely a close second.
Not quite magic for me, but still amazing to me every time I turn on the switch, thinking about all the pieces that have to come together for it to work every time without me thinking about it. Thanks to all of you.
I’m pretty concerned though as I read about supply shortages, especially if more nuclear plants shut down and Palisades doesn’t come back online, versus electrical use growth projections (more heat-pumps, more EVs, more electric kitchen appliances, more power-hungry computers).
So, a couple questions:
– is utility-scale battery storage economical enough yet for Cherryland to think about? If not, when might it get there?
– can more battery storage avoid needing to expand the transmission lines within our community? What’s that cost/benefit look like?
Hi Andrew – good questions! I share your concern about the increasing risk of power supply shortages. One solution we are investigating is more demand-side management programs. Historically, grid reliability was entirely focused on building supply to match load. As we incorporate more intermittent resources, like wind and solar, and decommission thermal plants, we will have to be adept at matching load to available supply even when supply is scarce. I expect Cherryland will roll out programs that incentivize members to decrease their demand for electricity at peak times within the next few years. These programs can work particularly well with things like EVs, heat pumps (through thermostat control programs, etc).
Regarding utility-scale battery storage, the problem is both economics and physics. The most valuable battery storage for us would need to be able to provide power for days without needing “refueled” to help us keep the lights on during the winter. That technology just isn’t mature yet. The more cost-affordable battery systems can help smooth things out for a few hours and we are seeing more investment in those types of systems across the U.S. Right now, they wouldn’t prevent the need for transmission lines in our community because they wouldn’t provide enough storage to support our region for an extended period of time.
Regarding the basic economics, what we’re seeing today is that most utility-scale storage is happening in states with higher penetration of renewable energy (e.g. wind in Texas, solar in Arizona and California). These states tend to have more favorable conditions for higher output for their renewables which means they generate excess and need a place to park it until they need it plus they benefit from the short-term intermittency regulation more than we do. All of which makes the return on investment more attractive. I think Michigan will get there in the next decade and hopefully by that time we’ll also see improvements in the capacity of batteries as well.
Regarding Palisades, I continue to be very optimistic it will restart successfully. The plant operator is working closely with the NRC on due diligence for a safe restart and so far there have not been any issues that cannot be fixed for a timely restart. The Palisades plant is vital to Michigan electric reliability.
Thanks for the comment.
The most important room in the house every morning is the kitchen…the room that helps me to get a great start to my day for breakfast and coffee, both of which require electricity. As I switch on the kitchen light in the early morning hours I say quietly, “I’m so grateful for this electricity.” Why? Because the alternative is NOT a great way to start the day.
Thank you for what you do and the “invisibility” that you strive to maintain. That “invisibility lights up my life.
The most important room in the house every morning is the kitchen…the room that helps me to get a great start to my day for breakfast and coffee, both of which require electricity. As I switch on the kitchen light in the early morning hours I say quietly, “I’m so grateful for this electricity.” Why? Because the alternative is NOT a great way to start the day.
Thank you for what you do and the “invisibility” that you strive to maintain. That “invisibility” lights up my life.
I could not agree more! With coffee, everything is going to be ok. Without coffee, might as well burn down the house because it’s not going to be pretty. Glad we make your life a little better. We’ll keep working hard to make sure your days get off to a good start.
I agree, we lower our thermo stat at night.. first thing in am up it to 70. Winter mornings only. A light goes on in kitchen and the coffee made. I don’t take it for granted. Thanks Cherryland. Former director.