Building relationships with the communities we serve is key to our work. We work closely with community leaders to understand the issues they’re facing and develop plans to improve their service. Just ask Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara. “Time and time again, we experienced outages that left our residents frustrated and without access to power and critical resources,” said Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara.
DTE is investing in revolutionizing the grid and expanding tree trimming in Van Buren Township and surrounding communities to improve reliability throughout Southeast Michigan. For the past three years, we have been working on a $35 million project to install smart grid devices, construct a new electric substation, install over a mile of new utility poles, overhead wires, underground cable, conduit and transformers and trim trees. The new equipment is stronger and better able to withstand extreme weather. When completed, the work will result in an expected 90% improvement in reliability for customers in the Van Buren area who are served by the updated equipment and new substation.
“DTE representatives came to our neighborhoods and took the time to learn more about the problems we faced and then took actionable steps to resolve the issues,” McNamara said. Thanks to the steps we took, Supervisor McNamara says Van Buren Township has seen a “drastic decrease in outages,” and the community’s perception of DTE has improved. “There is still work to be done, but we now know that DTE cares. Things have changed and our service is noticeably better,” McNamara said.
DTE is committed to improving our service, not just in Van Buren Township but in every community we serve. It’s part of our $9 billion five-year plan to improve resiliency and build a brighter future for all of us. To see what upgrades we’re making in your area, explore more stories on EmpoweringMichigan.com
