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Utility’s Application For Natural Gas Pipeline Approved

Consumers Energy
Consumers Energy
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Michigan’s Public Service Commission has approved Consumers Energy’s application to build a wider natural gas pipeline.

The new Mid-Michigan Pipeline will be 36-inch (91-centimeter) and replace an existing, 20-inch (50-centimeter) line between Ovid, north of Lansing, and Chelsea, west of Ann Arbor, according to the agency.

Construction of the new 56-mile (90-kilometer) pipeline is expected from 2023 to 2024. Its cost is estimated at $550 million.

The Jackson-based utility said the existing line is more than 70 years old and that replacing it would increase Consumers Energy overall system resilience and remove a gas-supply bottleneck in the smaller pipeline.

Consumers Energy proposed rerouting portions of the pipeline to avoid more densely populated areas.

The Public Service Commission said its order found that the replacement pipeline will address corrosion issues and seam weld and other anomalies on the pipeline, remove the bottleneck and otherwise provide a more resilient and flexible natural gas system.

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