Consumers Energy will replace outdated natural gas pipelines in four Metro Detroit cities over the next four years to improve safety and reliability.
The $182 million Four Cities Metro Pipeline project will replace eight miles of existing 24-inch steel pipeline that dates as far back as the 1950s. The project starts at 14 Mile Road and Coolidge Hwy, and ends at Dequindre and 11 Mile Road, running through Royal Oak, Madison Heights, Clawson, and Warren.
Pre-construction begins in 2025. Construction of approximately two-mile segments will begin in 2026 and end in 2029, beginning each year in the spring and ending in the winter, Consumers Energy says.
The pipeline slated for replacement is for gas transportation; it doesn’t connect directly to consumers, says Consumers Energy spokesperson Brian Wheeler. The project will help move natural gas to more than 800,000 Southeast Michigan homes and businesses.
“A more modern natural gas system is safer and more reliable,” Wheeler says. “These communities [Royal Oak, Madison Heights, Clawson and Warren] are served directly by the pipeline, though it’s part of a larger system that covers all of Oakland and Macomb counties.”
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Map of the Four Cities Metro Pipeline project.
In 2025, Consumers Energy will complete construction work at four intersections in the region, Wheeler says. Road and/or lane closures will be announced as they take place at different points throughout the construction schedule from 2026 to 2029.
“We want to thank these communities in advance of the significant work we’ll be doing through this decade. We understand that construction can slow down drivers or cause interruptions for businesses and households,” Wheeler says. “We aim to carry out this work efficiently, minimize disruptions and communicate with the community before, during and after our work. We appreciate people’s patience.”
Royal Oak City Engineer Holly Donoghue says the city worked with Consumers Energy to avoid any roads that have been recently improved, and to avoid working on major roads as much as possible. Most of the work will take place along segments of Nakota Road, and N Washington and Woodlawn avenues on the north end of the city.
Additionally, Clawson Assistant City Manager Nikalas Stepnitz says Consumers has been proactive in communicating with the city concerning the project, and he expects that to continue.
The project is part of Consumer Energy’s Natural Gas Delivery Plan, a commitment to upgrading and modernizing its natural gas system to continue delivering natural gas safely and reliably to more than 1.8 million homes and businesses in its current network in the Lower Peninsula.
As part of this commitment, the company is also replacing more than 125 miles of natural gas pipeline this year in other projects across south and central Michigan, Wheeler says.
Environmental Impacts of Natural Gas
Consumers Energy claims natural gas is a cleaner energy, producing less greenhouse gas emissions than other forms of energy. Since 2012,
Consumers Energy has reduced methane emissions from its natural gas systems by 20%.
The company recently committed to
achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its natural gas systems by 2050 by modernizing its systems to reduce emissions, investing in systems to convert agricultural waste to renewable natural gas, and offering customers energy efficiency, demand response, and carbon offset programs.
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James Gignac.
However, some environmental advocacy groups say energy projects should be focused on renewable energy sources, arguing that any fossil fuels are a bad long-term investment.
The extraction of natural gas from the earth
causes environmental degradation, releases greenhouse gases, and has the potential to cause groundwater contamination and earthquakes, says Carlee Knott, energy and climate policy manager for the Michigan Environmental Council.
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Compared to coal, [natural gas] does have a lower environmental impact, but it’s still significant in terms of climate pollution and other pollutants like nitrogen oxides,” says James Gignac, associate director of Midwest Policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists. “In order to meet our climate goals and continue improving public health, we need to phase out the burning of fossil [natural] gas."
Climate Advocates Say Clean Energy Deserves Significant Investment
Most environmental policy groups advocate for transitioning to renewable energy sources, especially wind and solar, which do not produce any emissions while in operation.
“There's a balance,” Knott says. “We need to take a good look at the investments that we are making in our energy infrastructure and where we can put the time and energy into transitioning to renewables.”
Renewable sources do have negative environmental consequences. Mineral extraction to produce solar panels can cause environmental impacts, solar requires land that could be preserved for wildlife habitat, and wind turbines kill migrating birds.
However, the impact of these energy sources over their entire life cycle is far lower than non-renewable energy sources, which produce
enormous amounts of greenhouse gases that drive climate change, says Knott and Gignac.
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Carlee Knott.
“All forms of energy generation have impacts that we need to pay attention to and do our best to address them,” Gignac says.
Wheeler says Consumer Energy’s natural gas system – which powers home and business heating systems – cannot be compared to renewable energy sources like wind or solar, which produce electricity.
Gignac adds that
heating systems can be converted from gas to electricity generated from clean energy sources.
The more investment renewable energy sources receive, the cheaper and more efficient they will be, Gignac says. However, the transition from fossil fuels and gas to electricity and clean energy sources can only happen through careful planning and investment led by energy producers, consumers, and local, state, and national government policies.
“We want the existing system to be operated safely and to minimize leaks, but those kind of big investments need to be carefully scrutinized because spending a lot of money now on a system that ultimately we need to move away from is risky for rate payers,” he says. “And as more customers are electrifying and moving off of the gas service, that means there could be fewer customers who are having to pay for these large investments in the future.”