Jackson, Mich. (WKHM) — Consumers Energy has been expanding their use of drones across the electric grid, doubling their fleet in the past 2 years. Brian Wheeler with Consumers spoke with us about how the company’s drone fleet has expanded.

Consumers uses the drones as a way to conduct power line inspections on around 400 miles of lines that are inaccessible to helicopter crews.

The investment into the fleet is what Consumers Energy says is another example of their commitment to technology aimed at ensuring shorter and fewer power outages.

The company says customers’ average time without power during an outage was reduced by 20 minutes in 2024.