© Michael Livingston/IPR NewsIce storm in northern Michigan in March 2025 brought down trees and power lines, causing widespread damage and outages
Power lines across the country weren't designed for a changing climate, with much of the nation's grid built more than half a century ago. Today, stronger storms and heavier precipitation cause hundreds of outages a year, many because of trees falling on above-ground power lines.
In northern Michigan, some utilities want to change that.
In March 2025, a devastating ice storm hit the region, knocking down trees and snapping utility poles. Thousands of people lost power for weeks.
During the blackout, Lewiston, Michigan, resident Wanda Whiting suddenly had to get her husband, Dave, to the hospital. He was having heart trouble. The side of the highway was littered with downed wires and broken poles. The streets were so dark, she said, that she got lost on familiar roads.
"I still can't get over how astonished I was, how much we rely on street lights," Whiting said.
At one point, she had to drive over thick cables that had fallen across the road. Downed wires are dangerous; they can still be live even if the power is out. The couple made it to the hospital and Dave Whiting recovered. But the power in the area didn't come back on for another two weeks.
For Michiganders, the ice storm was a reminder of the power grid's vulnerabilities during severe weather. The state already sees some of the longest power outages in the country.
Climate change could make that worse. Research suggests northern Michigan will see more freezing rain instead of snow and possibly more destructive ice storms. Communities need to plan for a different future, said Richard B. Rood, a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan who studies climate change adaptation.
"You can't think of what we're experiencing as, 'This is how it used to be, and this is where it will be,'" Rood said. "You are right in the middle of the change here."
The biggest challenge to undergrounding power lines is cost. Consumers Energy, one of the largest utilities in Michigan, says it hears from customers "consistently" about burying more lines. The company estimates that undergrounding 1 mile of line in the state can cost $400,000. In some urban areas that cost can swell, with estimates ranging from $2 million to 3 million per mile, according to a report from the Michigan Public Service Commission.
In contrast, installing overhead lines is typically a fraction of that cost.
Instead of undergrounding existing wires, burying new lines during construction is generally easier and cheaper, because crews can install power lines alongside other utilities like water or gas.
Tony Chartrand, director of electric engineering and operations for Traverse City Light & Power, which serves around 42,000 people, said utilities face a balancing act. "Part of that solution is undergrounding lines," he said. "But it's not necessarily undergrounding everything."
Great Lakes Energy, the state's largest electric co-op serving 26 counties across northern Michigan, has announced plans to bury all new power lines. The new policy came in response to last year's ice storm, which caused more than 66,000 power outages for the electric co-op and cost about $150 million in damages.
Even so, burying new lines will be expensive, said Shari Culver, chief operating officer for Great Lakes Energy. It can cost 3 to 5 times more than putting up an overhead line, and costs will be passed onto ratepayers. But, she said, "I think there's reliability benefits for our membership, because it's going to help prevent outages over the long term."
The utility isn't planning on burying all its existing overhead lines. That's when expenses for construction, labor, and materials can add up quickly.
Besides the cost, there are other challenges with burying power lines. Any problem often requires digging up sidewalks to reach wires, Chartrand said. For utilities, that can be a balancing act.
"Part of that solution is undergrounding lines. But it's not necessarily undergrounding everything," he said. "It's trying to balance that cost with the benefit."
Michigan utilities aren't alone in addressing the problem of downed lines during intense storms. Across the country, Americans are experiencing longer and more frequent power outages due to severe weather.
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