A Message from DTE Energy and Information on Upcoming Town Hall Meetings
In recent weeks, our nation and the state of Michigan faced a series of severe weather events,
including our largest ice storm in 50 years, followed by a heavy snowstorm and 45+ mph winds, which
caused hundreds of thousands of our customers to lose power. What was once considered a “historic”
storm has now become the unwelcome norm, and the severity of this new norm is challenging us and our
infrastructure to adapt and adjust.
On behalf of the entire DTE team, we sincerely apologize to those affected by the power outages
during therecent waves of extreme weather events. Our customers and communities that we
serve deserve better performancefrom our electric grid and DTE Energy. We know this and
wholeheartedly accept the responsibility of working together
to invest in our grid to improve its reliability and performance for our customers.
We also want to express our profound gratitude to each of you and all our partners for your assistance and cooperation
during the recent restoration efforts. Your collaboration is critical in helping us provide our customers – your constituents
with the safety messages and resources while we worked to restore power as safely and quickly as possible.
To Improve Reliability, We Must Accelerate Investments into the Grid:
DTE Electric President and COO Trevor Lauer recently visited Lansing to initiate discussions with legislators on
how we can improve electric reliability for our customers. To see dramatically improved performance, we must
invest in the grid faster to outpace the rate at which we are experiencing severe weather.
Smart Grid Automation. We need to drive for full automation of the electric grid within 5 to 6 years
which can fundamentally reduce the duration of outages by allowing us to re-route power on the
grid during an outage. Tree Trimming: We must continue our investment in enhanced tree trimming. We know that
the majority of the time our customers spend without power is due to tree interference. In areas where tree
trimming is up-to-date, customers experience a 60-70% improvement in overall reliability.
Preventative Maintenance: We must continue preventative maintenance and updating the existing infrastructure
specifically, poles, cross arms, braces, wires, and other equipment that makes the electrical system more reliable
and resilient. In 2022, on those most challenged circuits where DTE completed this type of focused maintenance
and work, customers experienced a 40-70% improvement in overall reliability.
Rebuild the Grid and Undergrounding: We need to continue the complete rebuild of the older portions of our grid
to a modern design. In some instances where it makes sense, we plan to pursue the undergrounding of our
distribution system. What Can You Do? The Michigan Public Service Commission will hold a series of town hall
meetings to take public comments on power outages from the recent winter storms. We believe engaging all stakeholders
is vital to improving the reliability of our grid. As such, we want to ensure that you are informed about these public
forums and have the opportunity to participate. By working together, we can deliver on accelerating the investment
that our grid needs and our customers – your constituents – deserve for reliable power.
The Michigan Public Service Commission will hold two in-person town halls on March 20 as well as a virtual town hall
meeting on March 21. Jackson Town Hall on March 20, 202312:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.American 1 Credit Union Event
Center128 W. Ganson St.Jackson, MI Dearborn Town Hall on March 20, 20235:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.Fordson High School
Auditorium13800 Ford RoadDearborn, MI
Virtual Town Hall on March 21, 20236:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.Click here for the event reservation
page: https://www.michigan.gov/…/virtual-town-hall—electric…* A link to participate through Microsoft Teams will be posted
closer to the day of the virtual town hall on the event’s webpage.
Written comments also may be submitted by mail to Executive Secretary, Michigan Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 30221,
Lansing, MI 48909, or by email to mpscedockets@michigan.gov.
Original source can be found here
