Reliability Roadmap by the Numbers: 2,700 Electric Reliability Improvements Powered by Customers' Investments in 2025

Rhea-AI Summary

Consumers Energy (NYSE:CMS) completed nearly 2,700 distribution reliability projects in 2025, including three new substations, seven fractionalizations, 32,173 utility poles installed and over 12,000 line sensors. Investments reduced customer impacts by 130,000 outages and generated $15 million in storm-response savings.

The company says ~80% of customer rate increases over five years funded these improvements; goals remain to keep outages under 24 hours per customer and limit single-incident impacts to under 100,000 customers.

Positive

• Nearly 2,700 reliability projects completed in 2025
• 32,173 utility poles installed to upgrade infrastructure
• Investments reduced 130,000 customer outages
• Storm forecasting improvements generated $15 million in savings
• 12,000+ line sensors installed to detect issues early
• 80% of recent rate increases funded reliability work

Negative

• Weather-driven outage events increased by 20% in 2025
• Reliability goals (no customer >24 hours, <100,000 affected) not yet reached

News Market Reaction – CMS

-1.22%

1 alert

-1.22% News Effect

On the day this news was published, CMS declined 1.22%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Key Figures

Rate increase allocation: 80% of customer rate increases Weather-driven outages: 20% more outage events Outages avoided: 130,000 outages +5 more

8 metrics

Rate increase allocation 80% of customer rate increases Portion of past 5 years’ rate increases funding reliability improvements

Weather-driven outages 20% more outage events Increase in weather-driven outage events in 2025 vs prior period

Outages avoided 130,000 outages Customer outages reduced at homes and businesses due to investments

Storm planning savings $15 million Savings from improved storm forecasting and planning

Reliability projects 2,700 projects Low and high voltage distribution reliability projects completed in 2025

Utility poles installed 32,173 poles Poles installed to replace and upgrade infrastructure

Lines inspected 26,069 miles Miles of power lines inspected by crews, helicopters and drones

Tree clearing 8,000 miles Miles of lines with trees and limbs cleared to prevent outages

Market Reality Check

Price: $75.85 Vol: Volume 2,891,060 vs 20-da...

normal vol

$75.85 Last Close

Volume Volume 2,891,060 vs 20-day average 3,437,763, indicating slightly lighter trading ahead of this reliability update. normal

Technical Shares at $76.04 are above the $71.82 200-day MA and about 1.6% below the $77.275 52-week high.

Peers on Argus

CMS slipped 0.91% with peers also lower: DTE -3.57%, FE -1.58%, EIX -1.27%, PPL ...

CMS slipped 0.91% with peers also lower: DTE -3.57%, FE -1.58%, EIX -1.27%, PPL -1.13%, CNP -0.37%, suggesting a broader utilities pullback rather than a CMS-specific move.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Feb 13 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Feb 13	Preferred dividend	Positive	+2.7%	Quarterly dividend declared on 4.200% preferred Series C shares.
Feb 13	Subsidiary dividend	Positive	+2.7%	Consumers Energy declared quarterly dividend on $4.50 preferred stock.
Feb 05	Dividend increase	Positive	+1.8%	Board raised quarterly common dividend to $0.57 per share.
Feb 05	Earnings and guidance	Positive	+1.8%	2025 EPS beat guidance and 2026 adjusted EPS guidance was raised.
Feb 02	Customer bill impact	Negative	-1.3%	Warned that brutal cold and 25% higher gas use would raise bills.

Pattern Detected

Recent CMS and Consumers Energy news, especially dividends and earnings beats, has generally seen modestly positive price reactions, while customer-cost-related news aligned with a mild decline.

Recent Company History

Over recent months, CMS highlighted dividend stability and earnings strength. On Feb 5, 2026, it exceeded 2025 earnings guidance and raised 2026 adjusted EPS guidance and the annual dividend, with shares rising about 1.76%. Multiple preferred and common dividend declarations in February 2026 also coincided with gains. A January update about higher energy use and bills during brutal cold on Feb 2, 2026 saw a -1.31% move. Today’s grid reliability update continues the theme of system investment and customer impact.

Regulatory & Risk Context

Active S-3 Shelf

Shelf Active

Active S-3 Shelf Registration 2026-02-11

An automatic shelf registration on Form S-3ASR dated 2026-02-11 is effective, allowing CMS Energy and Consumers Energy to offer various securities, including equity and debt, from time to time for general corporate purposes.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights substantial 2025 grid work—nearly 2,700 projects, 32,173 poles installe...

Analysis

This announcement highlights substantial 2025 grid work—nearly 2,700 projects, 32,173 poles installed and 26,069 miles of lines inspected—aimed at cutting outages and controlling long-term costs. It follows recent earnings strength and dividend increases. Investors should track how these reliability investments affect outage metrics, customer bills and regulatory outcomes, and monitor funding plans, including potential use of the effective automatic shelf registration for future capital needs.

Key Terms

substations, distribution reliability projects, line sensors, reclosers

4 terms

substations technical

"Built three new substations and completed seven fractionalization projects"

Substations are fenced facilities on the power grid where electricity is transformed, routed and controlled—think of them as traffic interchanges for electrical flow, using transformers and switches to change voltage and direct power between high-voltage long-distance lines and local distribution networks. They matter to investors because their condition, capacity and modernization affect utility reliability, maintenance costs, regulatory compliance and future growth; failures or upgrades can directly influence earnings, capital spending and the value of energy assets.

distribution reliability projects technical

"completed nearly 2,700 low voltage and high voltage distribution reliability projects"

Distribution reliability projects are capital works to strengthen the local delivery network that brings electricity or other utilities to end users, such as replacing aging lines, installing smarter switches, or hardening equipment against storms. Investors care because these projects reduce outages and service costs, can lower maintenance spending, and often qualify for regulated rate recovery or performance incentives, making them predictable sources of revenue and expense control for utility owners.

line sensors technical

"26,069 miles of power lines inspected ... and over 12,000-line sensors installed"

Line sensors are electronic devices placed along a production, inspection or transport line to detect, measure or image objects as they move past—think of a camera scanning items on a supermarket conveyor belt. They matter to investors because they enable automation, quality control and data collection that can reduce costs, increase production speed and open market opportunities for companies that sell or use them, affecting revenue and competitive position.

reclosers technical

"creating 31 ATR loops including 96 reclosers to limit customer impact"

Reclosers are automatic switch devices on electric distribution lines that temporarily cut power when a short or fault occurs and then quickly turn the line back on, much like a circuit breaker that tries restarting a stalled engine. For investors, they matter because reclosers reduce outage time, lower repair costs, and support grid reliability metrics—factors that influence utility operating expenses, capital spending and regulatory ratings tied to service performance.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

80% of customer rate increases over the past 5 years fund reliability improvements 

JACKSON, Mich., Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers Energy is looking back on a year of major grid improvements as crews across Michigan completed thousands of projects in 2025 to strengthen the electric system, reducing outages, restoring power faster and helping control costs for customers. These upgrades reflect our commitment to investing customers' dollars wisely in work that improves their experience even as severe weather intensified statewide. 

"We promised our customers a stronger, smarter grid, and we are delivering on that promise while being thoughtful on how we spend customer dollars," said Greg Salisbury, senior vice president and president of the electric grid. "That's why we're focused on practical upgrades that reduce outages today and help avoid higher costs down the road." 

In 2025, Michigan experienced historic ice storms, extreme winds and one of the most active tornado seasons since 1950. While Consumers Energy cannot control the storms, we are doing the work before storms hit by reinforcing equipment, trimming trees near power lines, inspecting infrastructure and installing technology to spot problems earlier. 

The investments in preparation paid off. Despite 20 percent more weather driven outage events, Consumers Energy's investments reduced customer impacts by 130,000 outages at their homes and businesses. Improved storm forecasting and planning generated $15 million in savings, helping crews respond more efficiently and reducing costs over time. 

"This work isn't about buzzwords or big promises. It's about doing the right work in the right places," Salisbury said. "When we invest wisely, customers see the benefit through fewer outages and faster restoration." 

Reliability Roadmap by the Numbers:

In 2025, Consumers Energy completed nearly 2,700 low voltage and high voltage distribution reliability projects, including:

• Built three new substations and completed seven fractionalization projects to divide the electric grid into smaller sections and support growing communities
• 32,173 utility poles installed to replace and upgrade infrastructure
• 26,069 miles of power lines inspected by crews, helicopters and drones and over 12,000-line sensors installed to catch issues early
• Trees and limbs cleared from more than 8,000 miles of power lines to prevent outages caused by falling branches, reduce storm damage and improve safety
• Used automated technology to reroute power during outages by creating 31 ATR loops including 96 reclosers to limit customer impact and outage length.

"We know customers are feeling the impact of rising costs on everything from groceries to housing and insurance," said Chris Fultz, vice president of low voltage distribution. "That is why we are focused on smart, preventative work that strengthens the grid because avoiding outages and restoring power faster helps reduce customers' costs over time." 

Consumers Energy remains focused on projects that support the long-term goals of the Reliability Roadmap, which are that no customer is ever without power for more than 24 hours and that no single weather incident affects more than 100,000 customers. While those goals have not yet been fully reached, the progress made in 2025 shows meaningful movement in the right direction. 

Severe weather is becoming more frequent, but we are preparing for it. By investing carefully in the equipment that serves our neighbors and businesses today, Consumers Energy is working to deliver more reliable service, reducing disruptions and costs for the long term. 

Consumers Energy is Michigan's largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. We are committed to delivering reliable and affordable energy to our customers 24/7. 

Learn more at ConsumersEnergy.com. 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reliability-roadmap-by-the-numbers-2-700-electric-reliability-improvements-powered-by-customers-investments-in-2025--302691696.html

SOURCE Consumers Energy

FAQ

What did Consumers Energy (CMS) complete in 2025 to improve reliability?

Consumers Energy completed nearly 2,700 distribution projects in 2025, including substations, pole replacements and sensors. According to the company, work included three new substations, 32,173 poles, over 12,000 line sensors and 26,069 miles inspected.

How many outages did Consumers Energy (CMS) avoid in 2025 due to investments?

Investments reduced customer impacts by 130,000 avoided outages in 2025. According to the company, improved planning and technology limited customer interruptions despite a 20% increase in weather-driven outage events.

What cost savings did Consumers Energy (CMS) report from storm forecasting in 2025?

Improved storm forecasting and planning generated $15 million in savings in 2025. According to the company, those savings came from more efficient crew deployment and faster response during severe weather events.

How were customers' rate increases used by Consumers Energy (CMS) for reliability?

About 80% of customer rate increases over the past five years funded reliability improvements. According to the company, those funds supported pole replacements, sensors, line inspections and substation projects across Michigan.

What reliability goals does Consumers Energy (CMS) still aim to achieve after 2025?

Consumers Energy aims for no customer to be without power more than 24 hours and to limit any single weather incident to under 100,000 customers affected. According to the company, progress was made but goals are not yet fully reached.