DETROIT – DTE Energy announced Thursday that the effort to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers across Metro Detroit is still expected to take multiple days.
DTE said it expects 90 percent of its customers to have power restored by Sunday. There are more than 4,000 downed power lines and 650 employees working to restore power, the spokesman said.
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As of 4 p.m. Thursday, DTE Energy was reporting that around 570,000 customers in southeast Michigan are without power because of Wednesday's strong winds.
- 6 a.m. Thursday -- 670,000 DTE customers without power
- 7 a.m. Thursday -- 670,00 DTE customers without power
- 10 a.m. Thursday -- 665,000 DTE customers without power
- 2:45 p.m. Thursday -- 630,000 DTE customers without power
- 4 p.m. Thursday -- 570,000 DTE customers without power
- 9 p.m. Thursday --- 515,000 DTE customers without power
The outages are widespread throughout the region.
Power has been restored to around 200,000 customers since the wind storm, DTE announced.
Here are the numbers county-by-county in Metro Detroit (as of 2:25 p.m. Thursday):
- Wayne: 253,000 without power
- Washtenaw: 46,000 without power
- Oakland: 160,000 without power
- Macomb: 45,000 without power
- Livingtson: 36,000 without power
- Monroe: 15,000 without power
- St. Clair: 21,000 without power
Storm tips from DTE
- Never drive across a downed power line. If a power line falls on your vehicle, remain inside until help arrives.
- Always operate generators outdoors to avoid dangerous buildup of toxic fumes.
- Turn off or unplug all appliances to prevent an electrical overload when power is restored. Leave one light switch on to indicate when power is restored.
- Don’t open refrigerators or freezers more than absolutely necessary. A closed refrigerator will stay cold for 12 hours. Kept closed, a well-filled freezer will preserve food for two days.
- If a customer is elderly or has a medical condition that would be adversely impacted by a power outage, they should try to make alternative accommodations with family or friends.
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