UPDATE 12/1/23 11:00 a.m.
CADILLAC — Caberfae Peaks says Consumers Energy lineman are working 12-hour days, seven days a week, to upgrade power to the resort and village.
In their post, Caberfae thanked Consumers for their response and thanked those who helped send calls and messages to get the problem fixed.
11/29/23 6:20 p.m.
CADILLAC — Ski resorts in Northern Michigan are happy about the recent snowfall and winterlike weather but one resort getting ready for skiers and snowboarders to hit the slopes is being hampered by power outages.
Caberfae Peaks Ski and Golf Resort’s Mountain operations manager Tim Meyer, said they have lost power three times in the last five days. Those outages have been impacting their ability to make the much-needed snow that will allow them to open.
“We lost power Friday morning and then we lost power yesterday morning at 6 a.m. and then we lost power again last night at about 6 p.m.,” said Meyer.
Meyer said it happens a lot as they prep the slopes. He said every time they lose power, it takes a long time to restart and that equals a lot of lost time for the resort.
“We’re in a situation now where we can’t run our snowmaking system at full capacity. We’re really up against the wall here. We need to have reliable power,” said Meyer.
Meyer said the massive snowmaking machines take a lot of power to run but Caberfae said with the old aging electrical infrastructure, it can’t handle the power load. He said these outages not only impact snowmaking, but it hurts their infrastructure when a line burns up.
“Then it’s like pulling the plug and it does a lot of damage. We have a lot of freeze up problems and then the next time we start up, it’s even harder,” said Meyer.
The resort said they have been asking Consumers Energy to upgrade the power lines so they can work at full strength. Some lines have been upgraded but not enough.
“Snowmaking is the lifeblood of our business, and we have to do it in cold temperatures. So, we’re limited on the time when we can make snow,” said Meyer.
Meyer said currently they have power, and they still plan to open up this Saturday, even though they did not make as much snow as they had hoped for.
People like Dena Kinnie who lives in Caberfae Village, agrees the power outages are often and random.
“I would love answers. I would love consumers to reach out and tell us why this is happening and what they’re going to do to prevent it. And we haven’t gotten anything,” said Kinnie.
9&10 News reached out to Consumers Energy and received this statement from Katie Carey, the Director of External Relations, CMS Energy & Consumers Energy
“We apologize for the electric reliability issues Caberfae Peaks Ski Resort has experienced when conducting snow making operations early in the season. The circuit feeding Caberfae Peaks is in a multi-year project to increase capacity and improve reliability. There have been two other sections of the upgrade that have been completed with more identified for future repairs. For the issue they are experiencing now, there are several long-term repairs needed to serve the resort and our team has identified those fixes, with work starting today. In the meantime, we will explore short-term actions that can improve reliability until this section of line can be replaced. We will continue to remain in close contact with the resort throughout this issue.”
11/29/23 1:30 p.m.
CADILLAC — Caberfae Peaks tells us power outages like the ones they experienced Tuesday night happen a lot as they prepare for the ski season.
Mountain Operations Manager Tim Meyer says they started making snow after Thanksgiving, but because of old, outdated power lines, the resort and surrounding village often lose power. He says every time that happens it takes a long time to restart, and that means lost snow-making time.
Meyer says they’ve been asking Consumers Energy to upgrade the power lines for a long time. He says some lines have been upgraded, but it isn’t enough.
“The natural snow we get is like icing on the cake. But we [have] to bake that cake, and that cake is snow,” said Meyer. “It’s snowmaking. We can’t open, we won’t exist without snowmaking. So if we don’t get our snow made, we don’t get the ski resort open. Then it’s game over. We’re done.”
Caberfae still plans to open up Saturday, Dec. 2 even though they didn’t make as much snow as they hoped to.
Consumers Energy issued a statement on the outages, saying:
“We apologize for the electric reliability issues Caberfae Peaks Ski Resort has experienced when conducting snow making operations early in the season. The circuit feeding Caberfae Peaks is in a multi-year project to increase capacity and improve reliability. There have been two other sections of the upgrade that have been completed with more identified for future repairs. For the issue they are experiencing now, there are several long-term repairs needed to serve the resort and our team has identified those fixes, with work starting today. In the meantime, we will explore short-term actions that can improve reliability until this section of line can be replaced. We will continue to remain in close contact with the resort throughout this issue.”
11/29/23 9:00 a.m.
CADILLAC — Caberfae Peaks says they will be able to open their slopes this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 2 and 3.
“The snow machines have been crankin’ (when we’ve had power) and Mother Nature has also blessed us with 13″ of natural snow in the last 4 days,” Caberfae said in a Facebook post. “Thanks to Consumers Energy for restoring our power two times yesterday and keeping the lights on throughout the night last night.”
Find out when other Northern Michigan resorts are opening their slopes
11/29/23 8:30 a.m.
CADILLAC — Caberfae Peaks saw their third power outage in just five days, they said Tuesday night.
They say all three outages are thanks to outdated power lines that supply the resort. Caberfae says they’ve been in communication with Consumers Energy, which has upgraded some of the lines.
Caberfae Peaks say their hard-working snowmaking crew will continue to work tirelessly to get the slopes open.
