DTE: Half of customers without power expected to be restored by end of day

Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·2 min read

DTE Energy said it will be into the weekend before the lights for everyone will be on again.

"We’re working as quickly and safely as possible to get everyone restored," promised Bill Hutchinson, director of DTE's emergency preparedness and response for electric, adding that "two storm systems went through our state yesterday."

The utility said it has been trying to restore power to more than 8% of its electricity customers, which were out at the peak of the outages. It also said it is committed to help customers at risk in the heat, which is forecast to be be in the 90s Friday, with with the humidity, feel like 100 degrees.

David Turner, 49, of Grosse Pointe Park, and Kevin Landon, 50, of Detroit, fill up their portable fuel containers at the Marathon gas station on the corner of Alter Road and Jefferson Avenue in Grosse Pointe Park on Thursday, July 27, 2023. They need the fuel to power their generators at home after they lost power during intense storms on Wednesday. "This is my second fill-up of the day," said Turner.

The utility said Thursday afternoon it is aiming to have half of the customers who lost power in the storms — more than 180,000 customers — restored by the end of Thursday, and up to 95% of them to have power by the end of the day Saturday.

As of about 3:30 p.m., there were still about 162,000 customers without power, about 150,000 of them were DTE, and 12,000, Consumers Energy. Both utilities were down from a combined total of about 200,000 customers from earlier in the day.

Under the reliability standards guidelines ordered by the state Public Service Commission, which has oversight of utilities, customers can receive a $35 credit if they have had an outage of more than 48 hours. If the power is out longer than that, additional credits will accrue.

Debris piles line the side of Alter Road in Grosse Pointe Park on Thursday, July 27, 2023. Intense storms rolled through the area causing damage and power outages Wednesday.
Debris piles line the side of Alter Road in Grosse Pointe Park on Thursday, July 27, 2023. Intense storms rolled through the area causing damage and power outages Wednesday.

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In 2021, Attorney General Dana Nessel blasted the state's utilities for its slow-moving restoration efforts, and called upon them to issue automatic credits to Michiganders whose power was out. Nessel said the utilities needed to work hard to "restore trust with their customers."

Homeowners watch as Troy Tree Service workers take down a tree that obstructed power lines along Maryland Street in Grosse Pointe Park on Thursday, July 27, 2023. Many residents were affected by the intense storms that rolled through the area on Wednesday.
Homeowners watch as Troy Tree Service workers take down a tree that obstructed power lines along Maryland Street in Grosse Pointe Park on Thursday, July 27, 2023. Many residents were affected by the intense storms that rolled through the area on Wednesday.

This time the storm damage to power lines — much of it in the Gross Pointes and Ann Arbor — was caused not just by down tree limbs, but also by large, 40-80 feet tall, trees that were up rooted and fell onto lines and broke multiple poles, DTE said.

At-risk customers concerned about the high should call 800-477-4747, Hutchinson said, to seek help from the utility. DTE, he said, can connect generators for customers in need of electricity to power medical equipment. It also he said, is setting up community centers and vans that will deliver ice.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: DTE aims to have power restored to most customers by end of Saturday