Greater reliability is coming to Superior Township and northeast Ann Arbor. We recently began a five-year project to rebuild the electrical equipment that delivers power to these areas to help keep customers’ power on and support the area’s growing energy needs.
The project is part of DTE’s four-point plan to improve reliability, which includes trimming trees, upgrading existing infrastructure, rebuilding significant portions of the grid and accelerating our transition to a smart grid.
Over the next several years, we will invest more than $40 million to modernize the power delivery system in the area. This work includes:
- Constructing a new electric substation that will deliver more power to Superior Township and northeast Ann Arbor.
- Installing 20 miles of new overhead and underground power lines, transformers and electrical equipment that deliver power to homes and businesses in the area.
- Installing new, stronger utility poles, which can better withstand extreme weather conditions.
- Trimming or removing trees growing close to power lines. Fallen limbs and branches account for 50% of the time our customers are without power — trimming helps prevent tree-related outages.
- Installing smart grid devices, which can help reroute power to many customers during an outage.
“Rebuilding the infrastructure that delivers power to our customers will significantly improve reliability, especially during storms, wind and extreme weather conditions,” Jasmin Conway, project engineer, said. “It’s also important because the new substation and power delivery equipment will double our grid’s capacity. Additional capacity will allow us to deliver reliable power to even more residents and businesses moving into Superior Township and northeast Ann Arbor.”
The added capacity will also help support clean energy solutions like electric vehicles and more modern electric appliances, driving toward Ann Arbor’s A2Zero goals. Finally, this rebuild will help modernize the electric infrastructure, so we can better support more wind, solar and battery storage in the future.
What work are you doing now?
For the past few months, we have been installing new utility poles and overhead wires, transformers and electrical equipment in Superior Township along Plymouth Road toward Ann Arbor. We have completed around three miles of the rebuild.
We will continue this rebuilding work through 2028. Stay informed about the project or other work happening in your community at empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements or visit or electric reliability improvements map.