Mother Nature is bringing unpredictable weather and more powerful storms to Detroit. That’s why DTE Energy is upgrading and strengthening the electric grid to withstand this extreme weather.
In Detroit, the company has created a program to specifically address and update the city’s aging infrastructure to help keep customers’ lights on. Since 2018, DTE has inspected and upgraded more than 1,600 miles of electric equipment that delivers power to the city and plans to upgrade an additional 260 miles this year.
The work includes:
- Using drones to inspect electric equipment. The drones can view hard-to-reach locations, which helps speed up work. Plus, drones are less disruptive to customers because DTE workers don’t have to enter customers’ yards.
- Trimming trees away from power lines. Trimming allows crews to make repairs, while ensuring limbs and branches don’t fall onto lines or electric equipment and disrupt power.
- Inspecting and replacing poles and pole-top equipment, crossarms and other power delivery equipment with stronger materials.
- Removing old, unused wires and organizing the remaining wires to ensure they are safe and less likely to fall during storms or windy days.
When work is completed, customers served by the upgraded equipment are expected to experience up to an 80% improvement in electric reliability.
This upgrading work is part of DTE’s plan to build the electric grid of the future, which also includes transitioning to a smart grid, rebuilding significant portions of the grid and trimming trees. This work also helps DTE deliver on its commitment to reducing the number and length of power outages.
To learn more about work happening in your community, visit empoweringmichigan.com or the DTE Power Improvements Map at dteenergy.com/powermap.
