Electricity is a vital part of the way we live and work. That’s why we’re committed to reducing the power outages by 30% and cutting outage times in half for customers by the end of 2029.
In many areas served by DTE, from Detroit to Ann Arbor, the equipment that powers homes and businesses was installed in the early to mid-1900s. While this equipment has served customers well for 60 to 100 years, we’re working to modernize and rebuild significant portions of the grid, so the grid can better stand up to the increasingly extreme weather Mother Nature is bringing to Michigan.
What does rebuilding mean?
Rebuilding is important work where we build substations from scratch and install new, stronger infrastructure that helps deliver power from our substations to homes and businesses, including poles, power lines, transformers and other electric equipment.
Why are you rebuilding the infrastructure?
As we move to a more technology-driven, electrified lifestyle and as weather continues to get more extreme, areas of our service territory with older infrastructure will soon need to be modernized. The new infrastructure is stronger and more resilient to storms and wind, which means improved safety and reliability for our customers. Additionally, the new equipment has a greater capacity to support growth and more electric energy options like electric vehicles and appliances.
Which neighborhoods will be rebuilt?
Currently, we’re are rebuilding infrastructure in the following communities. These areas were chosen based on data-driven research, with more being added as we progress.
- Almont
- Ann Arbor
- Clawson
- Detroit
- Brewster, Brush Park, Douglas and Midtown neighborhoods
- Core City, Corktown, Hubbard Richard, Jeffries, North Corktown and Woodbridge neighborhoods
- Downtown Detroit — Central Business District, Midtown and New Center
- East Village, Elmwood Park, Gold Coast, Indian Village, Islandview, Joseph Berry Sub, Lafayette Park, McDougall-Hunt, Rivertown and West Village neighborhoods
- Airport Sub, Buffalo-Charles, Gratiot Town/Kettering, Gratiot Woods, a portion of Hamtramck, Pingree Park and West End neighborhoods
- Electrical equipment rebuild in the Downtown Detroit Financial District
- Richmond
- Pontiac
- Port Huron
- Webberville
Why aren’t you rebuilding my neighborhood’s infrastructure now?
We have plans to update our entire service territory to the higher voltage power delivery system. However, to keep energy bills affordable for customers, we are staggering our rebuild schedule.
What are you doing to maintain and improve my electric reliability in the meantime?
Rebuilding is just one part of our plan to build the grid of the future. Here’s what else we’re doing
- Installing smart grid devices, which help identify the damage that caused an outage so we can arrive on-site faster to make repairs. They also can reroute power to many customers during an outage
- Upgrading existing electrical equipment
- Trimming or removing trees near power lines to prevent them from falling on to electric equipment and causing outages
- Incorporating preventative inspections and maintenance
Learn more about reliability improvement work happening in your community at empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements or by visiting DTE’s Power Improvements Map.