DTE Energy is accelerating the work needed to create a resilient, world-class grid, and much of this work is happening in Wayne County. For example, DTE crews working in Canton and Belleville installed new poles that had begun to lean heavily due to recent high wind days. Crews replaced two of the crooked, worn poles and installed new crossarms, insulators, transformers, and other pieces of equipment to ensure we can continue to provide reliable and safe energy.
Updating existing infrastructure, like we’re doing in Canton and Belleville, is part of our four-point plan to build the grid of the future. Our plan, already underway, focuses on four key areas:
- Tree trimming. Half of the time customers spend without power is due to trees and branches contacting our equipment.
- Updating existing infrastructure. Modernizing and upgrading our existing infrastructure – like poles, crossarms and transformers – continues to make a significant impact on reliability.
- Rebuilding significant portions of our grid. It’s time to rebuild older areas of the grid, which account for one-third of our system. Rebuilding allows us to increase capacity for our customers and reliably handle additional demand from customers, including the increasing shift to EVs.
- Accelerating our transition to a smart grid. Over the last several years, we’ve laid the groundwork for a transition to a smart grid, so the lights stay on for our customers while we make repairs more quickly.
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, maintenance, and infrastructure updates. All these projects are underway to improve your service and reliability in the short and long term.
Make sure to regularly check the Wayne County community page to learn more about what is going on in your neighborhood. You can also follow DTE on Facebook and Twitter for even more updates and information.