Michigan Regulators Give Consumers Energy OK for $550M Natural Gas Pipeline

State regulators have given Consumers Energy Co. the nod to construct a new $550 million, 36-inch diameter pipeline replacement in central Michigan.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) last week approved Consumers’ application to build the Mid-Michigan Pipeline, a replacement of the existing 20-inch diameter, 70-year-old Line 100A.

The PSC determined that the Mid-Michigan project would improve the overall resilience of Consumers’ system while removing a bottleneck created by the smaller line. The new line would also address “corrosion issues and seam weld and other anomalies” on the old line, the regulator said.

The Mid-Michigan project would stretch 56 miles through Clinton, Ingham, Livingston, Shiawassee and Washtenaw counties. The new pipeline’s route is...