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As temperatures begin to drop, our electric team has been focused on ensuring the grid can meet the energy needs of the community this winter and into the future.

This fall, our Distribution Operations team launched reliability projects across Southeast Michigan. Our teams have started to make targeted improvements in more than 30 identified neighborhoods. The work includes installing new poles and cross arms, placing animal guards on equipment, accelerating trimming trees along electrical lines and more. The communities were selected based on data-driven analysis which identified circuits that have experienced elevated levels of interruptions to electrical service over a period. The surge work will improve service for thousands of residential and business customers.

This work not only modernizes the electric grid, but it also makes it more resilient against harsh weather. Winter weather and trees are a dangerous combination for the electric grid. Heavy snow and freezing rain on tree branches can cause them to break, fall on to power lines and ultimately cause power outages.

In addition, there are about 20 multi-year reliability projects happening in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, Sanilac and Washtenaw counties, with more being added as needed. The improvement work includes building new substations, installing new substation equipment, reconfiguring overhead powerlines and moving overhead wires to underground.

Plus, our distribution system experts, technicians and engineers in our power-generating plants recently performed preventative inspections and maintenance to winterize the electrical distribution system.

No matter if our area experiences a polar vortex like we did a few years ago or gets pounded with snow, there will be enough energy to keep our customers powered all winter long.

To learn more about ongoing reliability projects happening in your community visit https://empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements/.