Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition’s Livestream Series “The Energy Show” presents “The Power Behind the Power Lines: How UP Electric Utilities Work” with guest Mike Furmanski, electric superintendent for the City of Escanaba. A UPEC Bonus: Line 5 Update

For most of us, when we want to turn on a light or recharge our phone we flip a switch or plug it in and it just happens without a second thought. We know about generating plants and power lines-and our monthly bills-but how does the whole system work? Join The Energy Show, an Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) livestream series, on Thursday, July 30 at 7 p.m. EDT with Mike Furmanski, the superintendent of Escanaba’s electric utility, to find out.

Michigan has many electric utilities. Furmanski will explain the ins and outs of running the City of Escanaba’s utility. Then he’ll explain the different types of utilities-investor owned, cooperatives, municipal-and the bulk power transmission system in Michigan, called MISO, plus other networks that allow us to receive seamless electrical service to our homes. Our speaker will give us a picture of utility rates in the UP, telling us that electricity is only one part of the cost of providing power to our homes and businesses. And he’ll talk about the future: where do renewable energy sources fit into this picture?

The second part of this episode of The Energy Show is “Bone of Contention: Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac.” Line 5 is constantly in the news these days. From the 1953 easement to recent damage of the pipeline in the Straits, your UPEC hosts, Horst Schmidt and Evan Zimmermann, will wind through the current legal wrangles between the State of Michigan and Enbridge, the pipeline owner.

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Meeting ID: 839 8732 5278; Passcode: upec2020