DTE Energy crews were recently in Northville, helping us build the grid of the future, with a plan that includes:
- Accelerating our transition to a smart grid
- Updating existing infrastructure
- Rebuilding portions of the grid
- Trimming trees
Together, these will ensure that homes and businesses in and around Northville can maintain a flow of safe and reliable energy.
Switches are a crucial part of our pole-top equipment since they are responsible for detecting and stopping wires from carrying too large of electrical load.
Older switches have potential to crack, retain rainwater and even expand in the winter. This makes them prone to becoming unreliable. We can help prevent outages by recycling our old equipment and installing more reliable, rebuilt switches. They are insulated in a durable rubber-like material, which protects them from small animals, waterproofs them, and if a switch fails, it still is completely reusable.
In the event of an outage, switches notify our overhead and underground crews of the address of that outage, so they can begin restoration efforts more quickly. Remember: If you see pole top maintenance work happening near you, stay at least 25 feet away from the site and crews as a safety precaution.
We have performed nearly 40 jobs like this as part of a major upgrade effort happening in your Northville neighborhood. That work has included new underground cables, the pole top work mentioned here, plus targeted tree trimming at 15 sites with full circuit tree trimming to take place and be completed in the fall of 2023. All this work will help bring our Northville neighbors the power they need and reliability they deserve.
Make sure to regularly check the Wayne County community page to learn more about what is going on in your neighborhood. You can also follow DTE on Facebook and Twitter for even more updates and information.