DTE Energy is busy rebuilding the grid that powers Superior Township and northeast Ann Arbor. Rebuilding will help us reach our commitment to improving reliability by 30% and cutting outage times in half by 2029.
Recently, crews were hard at work at Plymouth Road and Dixboro Road, replacing older wooden power poles with modern steel ones.
These poles have less environmental impact and double the lifespan of their wooden counterparts – and they’re 100% recyclable.
The new poles DTE added are especially vital to the area grid. With the changeover to the more durable steel poles, the grid becomes more reliable. Ongoing work like this helps keep the power on for everyone.
Since 2023, DTE crews have been working to rebuild the electrical equipment that delivers power to this area of Washtenaw County.
Once work is completed, customers served by the upgraded substation and equipment will experience an expected 90% improvement in reliability. This multi-year, $40 million investment, includes:
- Installing smart grid devices. This technology allows the equipment in your neighborhood to seamlessly communicate with our system operations center: de-energizing lines that have fallen to keep you safe, identifying for our crews exactly where the damage is so they can begin restoration faster and rerouting power so that your lights stay on while our crews make repairs.
- Constructing a new electric substation that will deliver more power to Superior Township and northeast Ann Arbor.
- Rebuilding 20 miles of overhead equipment with stronger, more modern equipment.
- Installing several miles of new underground conduit and cable.
- Installing new, more durable poles to better withstand extreme weather.
- Trimming or removing trees growing close to power lines. Fallen trees and branches account for half the time our customers are without power — trimming helps prevent tree-related outages.
Project benefits
- Decreased outages and outage times
- Improved safety
- Greater grid capacity to handle growing power needs in and outside of the city.
- These infrastructure improvements will help drive toward Ann Arbor’s aspirational A2Zero goals.
Rebuilding work like this is just one part of DTE’s plan build the grid of the future: transitioning to a smart grid, upgrading existing infrastructure, rebuilding significant portions of the grid and trimming trees. Learn more about work happening in Washtenaw County at empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements or visit our power improvements map.