New iron utility poles to be installed in West Michigan

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Kalamazoo is one of the cities that will soon be getting an upgrade to its wooden utility poles from Consumers Energy.

The utility company plans on replacing the old wooden poles with iron ones.

Upgrading the wooden poles to iron is an effort to strengthen Consumers’ infrastructure and decrease power outages.

“Consumers Energy purchased 12,000 iron poles that we are going to be installing over the next year,” said Consumers Energy spokesperson Kristen Van Kley.

Iron is stronger, lighter and Van Kley said iron poles will last longer than the traditional wooden poles established throughout their grid in Michigan.

“These iron poles do have a lifespan of up to 80 years, maybe even more, and that is approximately double the lifespan of a wooden pole,” Van Kley said.

The upgrade to iron poles from wood helps cut costs and maintenance repairs for the utility company. An investment of $3.5 million was made to upgrade certain poles from wood to iron.

“They are also fire resistant and they can withstand wind gusts and also they are not vulnerable to some of the things that wooden poles are like insects, woodpeckers, decay, things like that,” Van Kley explained.

The iron poles are Consumers’ latest tactic to improve the reliability of the electric grid in Michigan.

With power outages from severe weather common in Michigan, Consumers says the iron poles can better withstand varying weather conditions.

“We really believe that it’s going to help with reliability and keeping the lights on for customers and so we are really excited about this,” Van Kley said.

Iron poles will be installed in select cities over the next few months.

“Coming up, we are going to deliver those poles to the Kalamazoo, Greenville and Tawas areas. And they are going to be installed in areas where bucket trucks can access them. So, we are going to be working through new operational techniques to get these stood up and installed,” said Van Kley.

Consumers will be experimenting with the first installations then throughout the year, the iron poles will be rolled out in different areas in Michigan.

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