Wolverine Power Cooperative recorded the highest peak energy demand to date for its distribution member-cooperatives in early July. These members include:
- Cherryland Electric Cooperative
- Great Lakes Energy
- HomeWorks Tri-County Electric Cooperative
- Midwest Energy Cooperative
- Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op
The five co-ops reached the new record of 658 megawatts (MW) on Friday, July 6, between the hours of 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. A new peak demand record of 833 MW was also set that same day for all seven Wolverine members. This record reflects the additional loads of Wolverine Power Marketing Cooperative and Spartan Renewable Energy.
“The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) issued a hot weather alert and maximum generation emergency warning the afternoon of July 6,” said Tim Martin, power supply portfolio manager for Wolverine. “We dispatched our available generators as a result, and they performed well.”
Wolverine owns six peaking power plants located throughout the Lower Peninsula. Peaking plants typically operate on hot summer days when demand for electricity is high and additional power supply is needed for short periods of time. Wolverine’s plants are located in Belleville, Burnips, Gaylord, Hersey, Tower and Vestaburg. Combined, these facilities are capable of generating 565 megawatts of electricity.
“By July of this year, output for our peaking plant near Belleville exceeded its total annual production from 2011,” Martin said. “Operators at all six plants have done an excellent job meeting Wolverine’s mission to deliver reliable power supply to its members at a competitive price.”
MISO issued weather alerts and generation warnings again in mid-July due to high temperatures and humidity, and Wolverine’s power plants were again called into service.
“Our plants play a key role in supplying power to our members,” Martin explained. “They fill gaps in our power supply portfolio and allow us to avoid short-term power purchases in the market when prices are high.”
