DETROIT (WXYZ) โ In an email sent to 7 Action News early Saturday morning, DTE’s Storm Response Team confirmed that power has been restored to approximately 80% of the 23,300 DTE customers affected by Winter Storm Elliott.
DTE Energy said it has deployed more than 1,700 employees and support teams, who will continue to work throughout the holiday weekend to restore power to customers who remain without power. The DTE said the majority would be restored by Saturday evening.
โI want to thank our customers for their patience as our crews work to restore their power in treacherous conditions,โ said Trevor Lauer, President and COO of DTE Electric. โThere is no good time to be without power, it is even more challenging during the holidays. We will continue to work as long as it takes to restore power to every one of our affected customers.
DTE’s electrical infrastructure suffered significant damage from Winter Storm Elliot late Thursday night into Friday evening.
“The weather system packed 45+ miles-per-hour winds for 13 consecutive hours, with three hours of winds exceeding 50 miles-per-hour. Such powerful, incredible gusts would have caused significantly more damage, it It was not for DTE’s ongoing work to upgrade its electricity infrastructure to help cope with extreme weather-related power outages, DTE Energy said in the email.
DTE Energy would like to remind customers of the following:
- Never use a portable generator inside a home or business. This releases carbon monoxide, which can be fatal. Keep it outside, away from windows and doors, so the fumes don’t come in.
- Never use a gas stove or oven to heat your home.
- Downed power lines can be covered with snow and debris, so be careful when going outside. Stay at least a bus length (20 feet) away from downed power lines and don’t touch anything that comes in contact with them – always treat them as live and dangerous.
- Report all downed wires using the DTE Energy mobile app at outage.dteenergy.com or by calling DTE at 800.477.4747. Report all emergencies to 9-1-1.
- Everyone should also heed the yellow caution tape warning, which indicates there is a power line down in the area. Do not cross the yellow caution tape.
