DETROIT – A winter storm is hammering Metro Detroit with a mixture of snow, rain, and ice, and there’s a chance hundreds of thousands of residents could lose power.
DTE Energy crews began preparing for the possibility of extensive power outages across the area as the wintry weather arrived Wednesday morning (Feb. 22). It’s expected to last into the night, and strong winds could accompany more precipitation on Thursday.
Right now, the greatest concern for DTE is how much ice will accumulate on wires and tree limbs.
“A half an inch of radial ice, so that’s ice covering, say, a wire, is the equivalent of having a baby grand piano on that single span of wire,” said Matt Paul, the executive vice president of distribution operations for DTE. “So the weight is significant for our system. We normally don’t see this kind of ice accumulation, so that’s the concern.”
When that ice weight is combined with strong winds, it can cause mass power outages. DTE has almost 1,500 line workers ready to respond to outages, including 400 coming in from out of state.
“If this ice does come to pass, we’ll be out there 24/7 until every customer is back on,” Paul said.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, DTE hadn’t received reports of any ice-related outages, though a few thousand customers had lost power because of the wind.
But if the ice accumulates as forecasted, outage numbers could skyrocket.
“If we see a half an inch or more of ice, it certainly wouldn’t be out of the question to see a few hundred thousand outages, or thereabouts,” Paul said.
Residents should be aware of downed wires and stay at least 25 feet away from them and anything they’re touching, such as fences.
Don’t run portable generators inside because they emit carbon monoxide.
You can watch Paul’s full 3 p.m. briefing below:
