DTE Energy issued warnings ahead of the next winter storm and amid a storm of its own, the utility company facing criticism of the multi-day outages for tens of thousands of people after the most recent icy weather.
The issue they say is trees or lines that may have been weakened by the last round of winter weather are now at risk for breaking this time.
“DTE Energy is closely watching a developing weather system, projected to include up to eight inches of snow and 35-45 mph winds,” said spokesperson David Ackerly in an email. Ackerly also said by phone the utility would not be doing interviews about the upcoming storm. “Trees and branches weakened by last week’s ice storm may cause more damage to the electric system following the predicted snow and winds.”
The warning follows more than a week of backlash after a winter storm that hit most of the upper Midwest knocked out power to 1 million people nationwide on Feb 23. The system swept through most of DTE’s service area, which is most of southeastern Michigan, leaving more than 600,000 customer,s or 60% of the national total without power.
.@DTE_Energy warning about weak trees after the last storm ahead of this storm pic.twitter.com/ATPCg0P9fS
— Grant Hermes (@GrantHermes) March 3, 2023
Related: What DTE Energy is saying after ice storm caused massive power outage across Metro Detroit
The utility then took nearly a week to restore power to customers although said more than 90 percent of customers reconnected in 36 hours. Still, tens of thousands remained without power for several more days. At the time of this article, just over 1900 customers were without power.
The state’s largest utility also warning the predicted snowfall of up to 12 inches in some parts of Metro Detroit could bury lethally charged power lines making them easier to hit when plowing, shoveling or simply trudging through the snow.
DTE asked people to look up at nearby powerlines before they start clearing snow, to stay 25 feet back from any downed line or anything the line might be touching and to call DTE right away.
Winter storm warning in Metro Detroit: Snow projections by area, storm timeline