Michigan's Gateway to Natural Gas Delivery -- Consumers Energy's White Pigeon Compressor Station -- Receives $75 Million Upgrade; Project Strengthens Service Reliability

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Sep 15, 2010, 06:30 ET

WHITE PIGEON, Mich., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Michigan's main gateway for natural gas delivery – Consumers Energy's White Pigeon Compressor Station in St. Joseph County – has received a $75 million upgrade.

The White Pigeon station serves Consumers Energy's 1.7 million natural gas customers in Michigan. About 65 percent of all natural gas delivered last year to the utility's system was received and processed through this facility. At a commissioning event today, White Pigeon Plant 3 was dedicated for service to customers.

"Consumers Energy provides the people of Michigan with reliable and affordable natural gas service to keep their families safe and comfortable," said John Russell, the utility's president and chief executive officer. "We're proud today to commission White Pigeon Plant 3, continuing this facility's excellent record of safety, service and reliability."

White Pigeon Plant 3 is now the largest compressor station on Consumers Energy's gas system. The plant replaces existing gas compressor equipment with an average age of more than 40 years. The plant's new engines have lower emissions and are more fuel efficient than the previous units. Approximately 140 Consumers Energy employees and contractors worked on the project during peak construction period, completing the plant in 16 months.

White Pigeon Plant 3's four high-speed compressor engines have the capacity to pump 800 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. The four new natural gas-fueled compressor engines have a combined capacity of approximately 16,500 horsepower.

Natural gas interstate pipelines originating in the southern and western United States join together near the White Pigeon compressor station. At that facility, gas flow is monitored and managed by Consumers Energy system controllers in Jackson and White Pigeon.

The White Pigeon project is part of the company's $6 billion Michigan investment plan over the next five years to serve Consumers Energy's natural gas and electric customers.

"Today's commissioning event is an example of our commitment to serving Michigan customers," Russell said. "We will continue making substantial investments in customer service, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and environmental quality programs."

Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, provides natural gas and electricity to nearly 6.5 million of Michigan's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, visit our Website at www.consumersenergy.com

SOURCE Consumers Energy