Armed with an infrared camera, Kurtiss “Scott” Koons searches high and low as he inspects a Grand Ledge substation.
It’s one of nearly 1,100 that power communities across Michigan – and this one in particular is responsible for the electric reliability of around 5,100 people. 
Through the camera’s lens, Koons, a Senior Engineering Technical Analyst, carefully scans the substation equipment looking for anything out of the norm. Thermal anomalies – not visible with the naked eye – indicate problems that could potentially cause outages if not addressed quickly.
“We’re all about getting results through the infrared program so we can quickly address whatever issues there may be at the substation,” said Koons, who has been with the company for nearly 10 years. “Taking this proactive approach to handle the little things prevents the bigger things from happening.”
The infrared camera is just one tool being put to use on our Reliability Roadmap – a strategic plan with a goal of reducing the number and length of outages. In the future, we imagine no outage will affect more than 100,000 people or last more than 24 hours. And they’re already proving to be effective.
In 2024, the cameras identified a variety of problems that were quickly solved by our crews – avoiding what could’ve been 19.9 million customer outage minutes.
“Any time we decrease the chances of an outage or limit one is a major win for us and our customers,” Koons said. “Proactive upgrades and replacements of damaged or non-working components is always the best way to maintain reliability.”
