With the unpredictable storm season approaching, we recently posed a simple question to our DTE field teams: What is one of the most unpredictable things you’ve experienced serving customers? Their answers were testament to our team’s dedication to serving you.
Rob, a lineman working in Farmington Hills, spoke of ways mother nature threw everything for a loop. “We were working in a ravine one time on some deenergized lines and everything was dry as can be,” recalled Rob. “All of the sudden, it started pouring rain. Within two hours, there was water a foot deep in places near our trucks.” He shook his head smiling as he relived the day in his mind. “The guys still talk about that job.”
That wasn’t the only story involving the natural elements. “Tornados are just unreal to experience,” said Alex, a crew leader out of Pontiac. “When you look out and see multiple poles just wiped out. Then you throw in the urgency of getting everyone’s power back on while also repairing the damage. It’s pretty wild.”
But Rudy, who was working a job in West Bloomfield, told a story of goodwill. “There are a lot of very kind and wonderful customers out there. We’ve worked after some nasty storms and outages, and there’s been a lot of people who have brought out food and drinks to us. One time, a customer was having a big BBQ in the backyard and invited us to grab a plate. They literally went to the store and bought extra to grill for our whole crew.”
You never know what a day may bring, but our crews will be out there making sure your power is there when you need it.
You may see more of our crews in the coming months as part of our accelerated electric reliability projects in your area, including more tree trimming and infrastructure updates. All these projects are underway to improve your service and reliability for the short- and long term.
Make sure to regularly check the Farmington Hills community page to learn more about what’s going on in your neighborhood. You can also follow DTE on Facebook and Twitter for even more updates and information.
