>> FIRST TONIGHT, SEVERE WEATHER OFTEN COMES WITH POWER OUTAGES IN AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, WEST MICHIGAN HAS DEALT WITH ITS FAIR SHARE SO FAR THIS YEAR. CONSUMERS ENERGY HOWEVER FOCUSING ON HOW IT CAN IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY OF THE SYSTEM. NEWS EIGHT'S KYLE MITCHELL EXPLAINS THE IMPACT THE UTILITY IS LOOKING TO MAKE AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR CUSTOMERS. >> THE UTILITY HAS INCREASED ITS EFFORT TO CLEAR TREES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS WITH THE GOAL OF REDUCING THE SIZE AND AMOUNT OF OUTAGES. >> HE'S GREAT FOR >> OUR HEAVIER RIDERS KEEPING THE HORSES IN CLIENTS ATTENDED TO THE QUESTIONER FOR THERAPEUTIC RIDING NEAR ROCKFORD IS A CONSTANT TASK AND REQUIRES ELECTRICITY THAT CAN BE A STRUGGLE AFTER SEVERE WEATHER IN A RURAL AREA THAT SEASON NUMBER OF OUTAGES. I WOULD SAY PROBABLY AT LEAST 10 TIMES A YEAR. KELLY O THE PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR THE NONPROFIT NEAR ROCKFORD SAYS THEY NEED POWER TO OPERATE. POWER GOES OUT. WE DON'T HAVE ANY LIGHTS OR. >> ANY COMPUTERS, ANY OF THAT STUFF CONNECT WITH PEOPLE. BUT THEN ALSO. WE'RE ON A WELL. SO THAT SHUTS DOWN WITH THEM. WE DON'T HAVE >> OUR WATER THAT'S AVAILABLE. >> FOR CREWS WORKING FOR CONSUMERS. ENERGY ARE BUSY HELPING IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY OF POWER TO THE CENTER. HE TILLIS SAYS IT WILL TRIM AND REMOVE TREES ALONG MORE THAN 7,000 MILES OF POWER LINES ACROSS THE STATE THIS YEAR. >> YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH 70 MILE PER HOUR WINDS, WHICH WE'VE SEEN THIS YEAR. IT BLOWS TREES AND LIMBS OVER IN PARTICULAR. ITS OLDER TREES DISEASE, DECAYING TREES. THEY'RE THE GREATEST RISK TO TO TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO WHEN CONSUMERS ENERGY SPOKESPERSON BRIAN WHEELER SAYS UTILITY HAS MORE THAN 300 CREWS STATIONED ACROSS THE STATE WORKING ON FOR STREET IN WEST MICHIGAN ALONE. THAT MEANS HUNDREDS OF MILES OF WORK. >> CONSUMERS, RELIABILITY ROAD MAP HAS HELPED IDENTIFY WAYS TO REDUCE OUTAGES WITH THE GOAL OF RESTORING POWER IN 24 HOURS OR LESS. >> AND REDUCING THE SIZE OF AN OUTAGE AFTER MAJOR STORM TO A 100,000 CUSTOMERS OR LESS. WE'VE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT A NEW TECHNOLOGY NEWS COMPUTER SYSTEMS THAT LOOK TO SEE WHERE WE HAVE POWER OUTAGES BECAUSE OF TREES AND FORESTRY. >> AND WHERE WE REALLY CAN MAKE THE MOST IMPACT. SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE STRATEGIC ABOUT THIS IS EASILY IS ALSO WORKING TO BURY SOME POWER LINES THROUGH A PILOT PROGRAM. BUT THAT PROCESS CAN BE EXPENSIVE AND TAKES TIME OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS. WE EXPECT TO BURY ABOUT A 1000 MILES OF POWER LINES ACROSS THE STATE. AND FOR CUSTOMERS LIKE THE QWEST CENTER, THE EFFORTS TO REDUCE OUTAGES ARE APPRECIATED. THAT'S JUST GREAT. ALL AROUND BECAUSE NOT ONLY FOR THE POWER LINES TONIGHT HEAD. BUT THEN WE HAVE A LOT OF TREES COMING DOWN AND THAT