Across the country and in Michigan, the gas industry and regulators have raised safety concerns with so-called "farm taps," private hook-ups directly to gas pipelines or storage fields instead of traditional mains.

The residents have another name for it: "contract gas." And they say Consumers has been worming its way out of the arrangement, forcing them to stomach costly alternatives. They're banding together to fight back.

In exchange for their subsurface rights and access to their properties, residents near Holland have contracts providing them "free gas" from storage wells on their farmland, which have a real steampunk vibe to them...

The folks I'm talking about live directly over a massive underground rock formation that Consumers Energy uses to store natural gas. The storage fields help meet demand during the winter heating season and keep prices consistent.