CITIES CALL FOR STEM IN OUTAGES
DTE promises more tree trimming, power grid upgrades
As complaints mount over power outages, officials from Royal Oak and other cities throughout Oakland County got an update from DTE Energy officials on what the company’s plans are to deal with the issue.
“We get a lot of complaints from residents on outages,” Royal Oak Mayor Michael Fournier said. “DTE has made investments in the Royal Oak area … but we’re not where we need to be.”
Oakland County Executive David Coulter set up a Zoom meeting last Monday between DTE executives and more than 60 local officials countywide.
“I think it was constructive and helpful in understanding what DTE is doing to mitigate power outages,” Fournier said. “With climate change and more severe weather we’re seeing more outages.”
Fournier further noted the solidarity among local communities to push for fewer outages.
“Long-term, we are going to have to think creatively on how to combat what appears to be the new weather pattern,” he said. “DTE’s business model sometimes is in conflict with change and innovation.”
The call with DTE included Jerry Norcia, president and CEO of DTE Energy, and Trevor Lauer, president and CEO of DTE Electric.
Lauer said the company knows the summer outages have been frustrating for many customers, especially those who experienced multiple outages.
“That’s why we announced a $70 million increase in tree trimming to reduce outages and are investing $1 billion annually to make our electric system more resistant to increasingly severe weather patterns,” Lauer said in a statement.
DTE is increasing tree trimming teams by nearly 30 percent to 1,500 and overhead line teams by 20 percent to 1,050 to “accelerate our efforts to create more resilient infrastructure,” he said.
The vast majority of power outages are caused by fallen trees and limbs.
State Attorney General Dana Nessel has said it is
unacceptable that Michigan residents have grown to expect power outages whenever severe weather is forecast. Nessel’s office last month cited a report showing that Michigan’s utilities rank in the bottom quarter of reliability among all states nationwide.
DTE and Consumers Energy also face increasing pressure from the Michigan Public Service Commission, which regulates the utility companies.
DTE last month in the wake of storms in August increased automatic credits to customers hit by outages from $25 to $100.
Some of the long- and short-term efforts DTE officials outlined were encouraging to Hazel Park City Manager Ed Klobucher.
“They certainly recognize there are problems,” he said. “We’re hopeful DTE has a good plan. Many of our residents have suffered way too many outages in the past two years.”
Ramping up tree trimming in Hazel Park will help, as will updating two of three power circuits in the city that are underperforming, Klobucher said.
Statistically, Hazel Park residents are more disadvantaged than the average customer.
“We expect DTE to take action,” Klobucher said. “They said they would work with communities and we expect them to meet those obligations.”
Similarly, Oak Park Mayor Marian McClellan said she was happy about some of what she heard during the question-and-answer session with DTE officials.
“The CEO (Jerry Norcia) said the $25 rebate (for outages) was an insult and he also realized that tree trimming wasn’t what it should be … and that some of the trees had been butchered when they were trimmed,” McClellan said.
DTE officials told community officials during Monday’s Zoom meeting they were accelerating efforts to make improvements to the electrical grid in 79 of the 450 cities they serve, according to McClellan.
“Oak Park is one of those communities, so I liked hearing that,” she said.
Still, it will take followup, better communication and commitment from DTE in the future to allay years of anger from many customers and their municipal leaders.
Following the Aug. 11 storm, the electrical power at McClellan’s house was out for five days.
She and her husband lost hundreds of dollars worth of food in their refrigerator and freezer.
Over half of Oak Park residents were without power.
“People are just frustrated beyond belief,” McClellan said. “I think now that the state attorney general has gotten involved, DTE is concerned.”