DETROIT, Feb. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From Michigan’s thumb, south to Detroit and the surrounding metro areas, DTE Energy’s electric customers experienced 25% improvement in power reliability from 2019 to 2020. Customers also saw the lowest number of outages compared to similar weather years.
"DTE is investing nearly $1 billion on behalf of our customers to upgrade the grid each year, and these enhancements are helping us deliver improved results," said Heather Rivard, senior vice president, Distribution Operations. “We know our customers depend on us – even more so this past year because they need our service to live, work and learn – so we continue to prioritize building a stronger and smarter grid.”
Building a more resilient infrastructure system includes trimming overgrown trees along power lines. Fallen trees and branches are responsible for two-thirds of the time our customers spend without power. In 2020, the company accelerated tree trim efforts, trimming more than 5,500 miles of trees – more than the distance from Detroit to Seattle and back. That’s nearly 1,000 miles more than in 2019.
In some communities like Detroit, where DTE has upgraded and replaced equipment and trimmed trees, customers on average experienced more than 70% improvement in reliability.
Some infrastructure improvements in 2020 included:
- Replaced almost 13,000 utility poles.
- Installed more than 31,500 wood cross arms with fiberglass cross arms on overhead power lines. Overhead power lines are prone to damage caused by strong winds, ice, heat and accidents.
- Built three new substations. New substations reduce power outages and provides additional electric capacity to support future growth.
- Upgraded more than 209 miles of DTE’s circuits to the latest construction standards, improving reliability for tens of thousands of customers.
The infrastructure improvements completed in 2020 make the electric grid more resilient, resulting in less power outages during volatile weather events like the storm in November 2020, which had wind gusts reaching over 50 mph.
“We constantly patrol circuits in our communities to look for additional opportunities to provide customers with safe, reliable and affordable electricity,” Rivard said. “We are committed to sustaining this new standard and making additional investments and upgrades into the next decade."
The work on the grid not only improves electric reliability, but also moves DTE closer to its clean energy goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
To learn more visit dteenergy.com/reliability.
About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.2 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects; renewable natural gas; natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage; and energy marketing and trading. As an environmental leader, DTE utility operations will reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions by more than 80 percent by 2040 to produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe, reliable and affordable. DTE Electric and Gas aspires to achieve net zero carbon and greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. DTE is committed to serving with its energy through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.