400K in Michigan remain without electricity after historic ice storm

DETROIT — DTE Energy remains short of its goal for power restoration on Saturday following the historic ice storm.

DTE President and CEO Jerry Norcia promised to have 90% of its customers back with power by the end of Friday but just over 87% were back on the grid at noon Saturday.

Over 400,000 DTE and Consumers Energy customers remained without power at noon Saturday after Michigan’s worst ice storm in 50 years left over a million people without power. In some areas over half an inch of ice coated everything from trees to wires, bringing down branches and utility poles across southeast Michigan.

DTE Energy Co. and Consumers have been working to clear downed wires and restore power to most affected clients by the end of the day Sunday.

DTE reported 291,861 customers without electricity at noon Saturday. This is the second-largest storm in terms of the number of DTE customers impacted in the utility’s 120-year history, Matt Paul, executive vice president of Distribution Operations at DTE, said in a virtual press conference Saturday.

The vast majority of DTE customers would be back online by the end of the day Sunday but a small number will still be out of power on Monday and Tuesday, Paul said Saturday.

“We’re also tracking some potential freezing rain that may come into our region on Monday and Tuesday,” Paul said. “With snow and possibly freezing rain coming in, it will impact how quickly our crews can get from point A to point B and in climbing poles and things like that.”

There is a chance for freezing rain on Monday afternoon and evening but it will likely transition to all rain quickly, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Kook. An event similar to last week’s ice storm is not likely, Kook said.

DTE prioritizes fixing the largest outages first, in addition to emergency facilities and schools, Paul said. Areas in and around Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County were hardest hit by the storm and that’s where DTE’s workforce is concentrated.

Consumers Energy reported 94% of its customers have power but 127,502 remained without at noon.

Nearly 300 Consumers Energy crews and line workers from out of state were deployed in the field and will continue working on outages throughout the weekend, as long as there is favourable weather, the company said in a news release.

Consumers Energy will serve free meals at the Grand River Brewery at the Gene Davis and Sons Banquet Center, 3575 Francis St, Jackson, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sunday. They hosted two similar events Saturday morning to thank customers for their patience during the outages.

“While our crews have been working 24/7 to clean up after the storm and restore power to all of our customers, we know power outages can be frustrating,” Norm Kapala, one of Consumers Energy’s officers in charge for the event, said in a news release. “These events are just small tokens of our appreciation for our customers’ patience and understanding as we continue our efforts.”

Over 11,000 downed wires were reported during and after the storm. DTE has addressed most of the roughly 3,000 downed wires that were reported to the utility, Paul said Saturday morning. Downed wires are a major safety concern and Consumers Energy warned people to be alert, stay at least 25 feet away and report them to local police and utilities.

Wayne County was also hit particularly hard by the storm, DTE officials said at a press conference Friday. Several warming and respite centres are open around the city of Detroit, including Detroit public libraries, which are operating under normal business hours and under COVID-19 protocols. Several recreation centres are also open and can provide residents without power relief from the cold.

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