DTE Energy trucks are coming to Grosse Ile. Over the next few months, we are investing more than $14 million to repair, strengthen and modernize the electrical grid in the area. This work will ensure island customers have the dependable power they need, when they need it.
“Building a modern grid is vital to ensuring our customers have access to safe, reliable energy,” Angelo DiCicco, Distribution Operations project manager, said. “The improvement work on Grosse Ile will prevent potential power disruptions. It also will increase the system’s overall reliability, safety and capacity to support customers’ growing energy needs.”
Recently, one of the main trunk lines — a piece of equipment that helps deliver power to homes and businesses — was damaged on Grosse Ile. Although the system is designed to continue operating without this trunk line, we are fixing the equipment. The work involves using a trenchless construction technique to install underground piping, conduit, and cables under the Detroit River. This equipment will act as a backup source to deliver power to customers. This added redundancy will help increase electric reliability for those in the area.
Barge used to do soil boring test in the Detroit riverbed.
We are going beyond just fixing an issue. Our crews will be doing the following work to modernize infrastructure and improve service for thousands of customers on the island:
- Installing new utility poles.
- Upgrading electrical equipment at the substation that delivers power to Grosse Ile.
- Replacing another existing trunk line that is currently serving the island.
- Trimming or removing trees that damage the overhead lines that deliver power to your home or business.
This work began in September 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2023. We will keep the community updated on these projects, including outage and road closure details if their home or business is impacted.
These upgrades are part of DTE’s accelerated infrastructure improvement solution. They will make the grid more modern, reliable and safe for customers. To learn more about reliability improvement work happening in your community, visit empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements.