At DTE Energy, we heavily invest every year in our program to trim and maintain trees across all the communities we serve.
This year, we have already trimmed more than 3,500 miles of trees in our service territory because we know that trees and their branches contacting electric equipment account for half the time our DTE customers spend without power.
While trimming trees is vitally important, there are times when letting DTE remove trees that might interfere with our equipment, instead of simply trimming them, can be greatly beneficial to improving reliability for our customers.
How?
- DTE always follows industry best practices to identify the ideal vegetation for removal.
- Smaller trees and brush pose the greatest threat to our overhead equipment— so removal ensures our right-of-way is clear and accessible for our crews.
- Removing unwanted vegetation provides the greatest reliability benefits, while also minimizing the need for future trimming in the area.
- The secret to having both reliable electricity and strong, beautiful trees is to plant only power line friendly, low-growing trees near DTE overhead lines. Learn more here about our Right Tree, Right Place initiative.
Tree trimming and tree removal are an important part of our ongoing plan to build the grid of the future, which also includes the quick transition to a smart grid, upgrading and maintaining equipment, and rebuilding significant portions of our grid.
So, when you see DTE crews working in your area, ask them for details about performing tree removal for you, near our power lines and equipment. Also, if you have received a tree removal permit and have additional questions, please reach out to the contact person provided on the card.
This work will help DTE in its commitment to reducing outages by 30% and cutting outage times in half by 2029.
For more general information on tree trimming and removal, visit our web page. To learn more about DTE work happening in your area, including tree trimming, visit our blog site or the DTE Power Improvements Map.