You may have seen DTE Energy trucks in your neighborhood and wondered what they were working on. This curiosity becomes much more urgent when your power is out. Rest assured, our Storm Response Teams are hard at work to restore your power as quickly and safely as possible. These teams are made up of people from across DTE — from line workers to project managers to meteorologists. While not every team member is in the field assessing damage and making repairs, they are all critical to the restoration process.
We know how tempting it is to stop workers in the field and ask what they’re doing or make special requests. This only slows down the restoration process. Your questions are important to us, and we want to help answer as many of them as possible. Here are some common questions and answers regarding DTE Storm Response Teams. Reach out to our customer service representatives with any additional questions you may have by calling 800.477.4747.
Why don’t I see DTE workers in my neighborhood?
The equipment that delivers power to your home or business may extend several miles from you. So, while you may not see work being done directly in your neighborhood, our Storm Response Teams are working hard to get your power back on.
A DTE truck was in MY neighborhood, why didn’t they restore MY power?
It’s possible that two homes in the same neighborhood are served by different electrical wires and equipment. We may have completed work on your neighbor’s circuit but are still working to make repairs on yours.
Why were DTE workers sitting in their truck instead of restoring my power?
- Crews are waiting for supplies to be delivered that are necessary to do the repairs.
- They are on standby waiting for severe weather to pass, so they can safely work on electrical equipment.
- There may be a safety issue that needs to be resolved. Areas must be secured and safe before beginning work.
- Workers are taking a quick break. Our crews work more than 16 hours a day to restore the lines. Quick breaks are important to ensuring crews have the energy and right mindset to safely restore power as quickly as possible.
To find more answers to your storm questions, visit empoweringmichigan.com. Get real-time updates and information about outages at the DTE Energy outage center or by following us on Nextdoor, Facebook and Twitter.