By: Sean Hickey

Michigan’s rise in unpredictable weather goes beyond the increase in violent storms – our winters are greener than ever. And while some may enjoy the milder season, Michigan snow enthusiasts and businesses that depend on the snow are struggling. For Caberfae Peaks, just west of Cadillac, the unpredictable snowfall patterns are even driving a significant change in their business model. 

“15 or 20 years ago we’d just run a handful of portable snow guns early in the season and be set for the year,” said Tim Meyer, Caberfae’s operations manager. “Unfortunately, that’s changed to needing fixed snow guns throughout the resort and the pumps and wells required to operate them.”  

In recent years, Caberfae has invested significantly in adding snowmaking capacity to improve their guest experience. And that adds up to a considerable additional load on the electric grid when those snowmaking guns are operating. The early months of November and December are crucial to start the season strong. 

The circuit feeding Caberfae was part of a multi-year project to increase capacity and improve reliability. As the 2023 season began, it became clear that new snowmaking capacity added by the resort meant a need to accelerate the work.  

Caberfae and our neighbors in Cadillac learned they can count on us when we brought in eleven crews to replace the electric lines running from Caberfae back to the substation.  

The result was game-changing, according to Tim Meyer. “With these new lines, now we can continue our growth plans,” he said. By adding electrical capacity, we can make snow more efficiently than before by running more snowmaking guns for a shorter time. Plus, we ensure a better experience for our guests” he said. Since completing the initial project, we’ve returned to continue work on the circuit with the final project wrapping up this November.  

“A couple of bad seasons can spell disaster in our business,” said Pete Meyer, the resort’s general manager. “Adding electrical service to meet our needs was key to reassuring skiers downstate in the more populous areas that we have snow even though they don’t.” 

As responsible stewards of the environment, the resort also prioritizes sustainable operations. “We’re in the outdoor industry, so the environment is a primary consideration. Electricity is pivotal to our operations, but long-term sustainability is also a cornerstone value,” said Pete Meyer. They installed their first Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) pump in 2007 to serve snowmaking operations. These advanced pumps can adjust their speed to meet the demands of the system they support, resulting in significantly lower energy demands. Since then, they’ve added several more VFD pumps in other areas. Caberfae also automated all its water source controls for increased electrical efficiency. Plus, other energy saving measures have been adopted resort-wide, such as LED lighting controlled by motion sensors and smart thermostats.  

“Our partnership with Consumers Energy is strong. We meet with our energy experts annually to review any upcoming changes we’re considering and discuss how they might impact our requirements. They’ve even helped us understand more about the electrical systems on the property and recommended ways to improve them,” says Pete Meyer. “We couldn’t be happier with the relationship.”