Don’t be surprised if you look into the sky and see a helicopter hovering above our power lines.

You don’t have to do a double take if you see our amphibious machine on a pond or lake. 

And of course, get used to seeing our crews around Michigan working to maintain our substations and replace poles and lines. 

All these air, land and water forces come together throughout the year for one simple goal: to bring reliable service to the communities we serve. And most recently they were used in Northern Michigan to help with restoration efforts after a historic ice storm.  

“These tools have helped bring our reliability plans to life and help power the lives of millions of people who count on us,” Keith Kurdziel, Director of High Voltage Reliability and Support. “Our goal continues to be providing sustainable improvement by reducing outages and decreasing the length of outages.” 

 

A Birds Eye View 

Our helicopter and ground patrols inspected over 7,100 miles of High Voltage Distribution (HVD) lines in 2024. That team’s work helped more than 187,000 customers avoid power outages.? 

The crew performs routine flyovers to help identify issues before they become outages. The chopper is also used for damage assessment in the aftermath of major storms. 

“Our helicopter patrols were an integral part of restoring power to the people who lost power during the recent ice storm that devastated Northern Michigan,” Kurdziel said. “And they will continue to be used to ensure reliability the rest of this year and beyond.” 

By Water

Another unique piece of equipment that helped us get through restoration efforts during the ice storm is our 6,000 pound amphibious machine. 

This is used by crews to inspect power lines, poles and transformers in areas where bucket trucks and other equipment can’t reach.

The machine usually causes excitement among onlookers due to its rugged military look and the crew decked out in their bright orange life preservers.  

“Our crews love our amphibious machine,” said Kurdziel.  “It can navigate through some of Michigan’s most difficult terrain to help us restore power, including during the ice storm.” 

Boots on the Ground

Most of our work still takes place with boots on the ground workers.  

Fallen trees or broken limbs are the leading cause of outages in Michigan. That’s why we’re working to strengthen Michigan’s electric grid by clearing trees and limbs from more than 8,000 miles of power lines this year. 

Traditional line clearing and overhead linework will also continue to be at the forefront of our reliability endeavors. This proactive effort is part of a stepped-up commitment to protect electrical equipment and reduce outages for homes and businesses across the state. 

Line clearers also helped pave the way for crews to restore power during the devastating ice storm in late March/early April. 

“All of these tools will have a role in setting us up for success when it comes to providing reliable power,” said Kurdziel. “We will do everything we can to keep the power on, but when weather strikes, you can count on us to go to great lengths to safely get the power back on.” 

Be on the lookout this summer for our next Counting the Ways feature as we head to Northern Michigan to continue highlighting co-workers and their reliability efforts in the region.