Amid record-breaking cold temperatures, the CEO and President of Consumers Power, Patti Poppe, one of Michigan’s primary providers of energy, has taken to Facebook to ask Michigan citizens to turn down their thermostats for two days. General Motors and Ford have suspended production at several automotive plants to help Consumers Power deal with the potential crisis.

The head of Consumers, on the coldest day of the year, asked  its 1.8 million customers Wednesday night to use less gas to heat their homes following the fire at one of the utility’s “most significant facilities,” which accounts a majority of its supply.

That was quickly followed by a request from the governor urging dialing thermostats down to 65 and Michigan Public Service Commission asking customers to reduce usage. Soon after, an emergency alert asked gas customers to cut usage. –Detroit News

After an explosion and fire at one of the top gas compression stations in MI, Consumers Power CEO, Patti Poppe, who hopes to completely eliminate the use of coal to produce electricity by 2040, as a way to stop global warming, was forced to explain to the “unprecedented crisis” they are facing as a result of record cold temperatures.

Last year, the AP reported – Consumers Energy and DTE Energy Co., which supply most of Michigan’s electricity, are among many U.S. providers moving away from coal even as President Donald Trump’s administration boosts fossil fuels and seeks to unravel former President Barack Obama’s policies that promoted cleaner power.

“We believe that climate change is real and we can do our part by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, and we also believe it doesn’t have to cost more to do it,” Poppe said. “We believe we’re going to be on the right side of history on this issue.”

Now, Consumers Energy President and CEO Patti Poppe is taking to Facebook to plead with customers to dial back their heat for the two coldest days in recent history. Poppie warned customers there would be brief, localized shutoffs if customers ignored the request. Poppe told MI customers, “This truly is an unprecedented crisis. We have never been in this situation before.”

https://www.facebook.com/ConsumersEnergyMichigan/videos/357785638397997/

Consumers Energy asks its customers to:

• Set thermostats to around 65 degrees while at home and 62 degrees when away for less than five hours

• Commercial and industrial users are asked to reduce operations through the end of the week

• Seal and shut doors and windows, check for leaks in both by feeling around for cold air

Wednesday’s fire at the compressor station — one of three stations at the Armada Township site — was reported about 10:30 a.m. after personnel at the facility first saw flames, utility officials said. Residents reported hearing an explosion, followed by flames that burned into the air and were visible for miles.

Consumers Energy officials said automatic equipment known as a fire gate shut off the flow of gas to the fire, which limited damage to the site and vent out the gas. The utility’s onsite incident management team determined the fire was contained and allowed a controlled burn to exhaust natural gas product remaining in the pipes. –Macomb Daily

Michigan’s new Democrat governor, and global warming alarmist, Gretchen Whitmer also posted a video to Twitter, asking lower Michigan residents to cut back on their use of gas during the record-breaking cold temperatures.

While running for governor in Michigan, Whitmer told Bridge MI: “I believe that climate change is real and we need to take steps to combat it,” Whitmer said in an email through spokeswoman Eileen Belden. “The facts show that this is a real threat to our environment, our economy, and the health and wellbeing of the people of our state.”

Whitmer pledged to enter Michigan into the U.S. Climate Alliance, a group of 17 governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, the international treaty President Donald Trump vows to leave. She also promised to create a state “department of the Great Lakes and Fresh Water”, which would house an “Office of Climate Change.”

Three days ago, President Trump tweeted about the Polar Vortex, warning citizens of record cold temperatures. At the end of his tweet, Presdident Trump took the opportunity to mock global warming alarmists, asking: “What the hell is going on with Global Waming [sp]?”adding “Please come back fast, we need you!”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1090074254010404864

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.


We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.