WESTLAND, Mich. – After three days in the dark, DTE expects to have power restored for the “vast majority” of its customers by Sunday evening.
Matt Paul, DTE Executive Vice President of Distribution Operations, held a news briefing Saturday morning, calling the restoration process complex.
He said in total, over 8,000 wires came down and more than 630,000 customers were impacted.
“This is the worst ice storm our area has experienced in nearly 50 years,” Paul said. “From a number of customers impacted standpoint this is already the second largest storm in our company’s 120 years history.”
As of Saturday morning, Paul sympathized with customers that are still without power.
Many homeowners, like Karen Lannoo in Westland, have been without power for days. “We have a wood-burning stove in the garage so we’ve had to stay there for the last few nights and it’s hard, it’s like 40 degrees in the house,” Lannoo said.
Lannoo is looking for reassurance from DTE that they will do better in the future. “I have no idea how they plan it but it seems like they could’ve been more proactive in pulling more crews,” Lannoo said. “They say that they have a lot of crews out but we haven’t really seen too many around here.”
While DTE expects most customers to have power by the end of the weekend, a small percentage may not have power until Monday or Tuesday due to winter weather expected to hit.
“We’re also tracking some potential freezing rain that may come into our region Monday and Tuesday and that could have an impact because one thing we won’t sacrifice is safety,” Paul said.
Power outage resources
Report an outage to DTE here. Report an outage to Consumers Energy here.
Power outages are particularly concerning in the winter, as cold temps can pose dangers to people and their homes. Find some resources below:
Read: DTE Energy power outage restoration times in SE Michigan: Here’s what we know