You may, at some point, have read a reliability update or heard a DTE line worker in your area mention a ‘buck pole’ and it went right over your head. Here’s a little crash course to explain this phrasing and, more importantly, how these poles provide power for you.
Buck poles are utility poles where lines change direction. They are equipped with fuses that enable power to be controlled, isolated and rerouted, if need be, in the case of an outage.
You have probably seen a buck pole before and just not realized it. In fact, that’s how they get their name. The term ‘buck pole’ comes from the two sets of crossarms that are present, usually at a 90-degree angle to each other. These crossarms are known as ‘buck arms’. Buck poles, serve as an intersection, you could say and are typically found along main roads. These poles are critical to keeping outages isolated, instead of ballooning to entire neighborhoods.
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 Inkster 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.
