Since 2020, DTE has been working to enhance power quality in Detroit’s Midtown area by completely rebuilding the infrastructure that delivers power to homes and businesses. This $200 million project will impact nine Detroit neighborhoods — Cultural Center, Eastern Market, Forest Park, McDougall-Hunt, northern Midtown, Medbury Park, Medical Center, Poletown East and Wayne State — and includes:
- Rebuilding 60 miles of poles, power lines, transformers and electrical equipment with more durable equipment.
- Installing smart grid devices, which can reroute power to many customers during an outage. This technology can also help quickly pinpoint the damage location that caused and outage, so crews can make repairs faster. Lastly, smart devices de-energize downed power lines to help keep people safe.
- Trimming trees near power lines to prevent them from falling onto electrical equipment and interrupting power.
- Connecting customers in the area to a new, upgraded substation. The new substation will help ensure power continues to be delivered safely and more reliably to homes and businesses.
When the project is finished in 2030, customers served by the upgraded equipment and substation will experience fewer and shorter outages, especially during storms. The work will also increase safety and the grid’s capacity to support growth and additional electric energy options, like more electric vehicles and appliances.
Progress
Winter 2025 – spring 2025:We have made progress in rebuilding the overhead infrastructure that delivers power to Midtown. To date, we have installed over three miles of new poles and power lines. Additionally, our crews are working on the underground infrastructure, installing cables and transformers to enhance the system’s reliability. We have installed 27 out of 81 transformers and have installed 90% of the cables.
Fall 2024: Crews began rebuilding the overhead infrastructure in the Forest Park and Poletown neighborhoods. This includes installing new poles and overhead wires that deliver power to the area. In 2023, crews installed over a mile of new infrastructure.
2023 – 2024: Nearly 21 of 24 miles of new cable was installed underground. Crews also began installing new transformers, which allow us to lower power to a voltage that’s safe for homes and businesses.
2020 – 2024: Crews installed new underground pipes (conduit) in the Midtown area. These pipes help protect the cables running under the city streets from damage.
This project is part of our commitment to reduce outages by 30% while cutting outage time in half by the end of 2029. To learn more about work happening in your area, visit empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements or DTE’s Power Improvements Map.