The numbers keep dropping but the lights stay off

More than 80,000 DTE Energy customers remained without electricity Monday afternoon after severe storms ripped through Detroit and southeast Michigan over the holiday weekend. The storms knocked out power to more than 380,000 customers statewide on Friday, according to the Detroit News. By Monday afternoon, the number had fallen to about 83,300 across DTE and Consumers Energy service areas. Wayne County bore the brunt of the damage, with 51,443 customers still in the dark Monday morning.

What residents are dealing with

"If we turn on a lot of things, the generator just shuts down," said Sam Ismail, 22, who lives on Curtis Street in Dearborn. His household has been without power since Friday.

Ismail's neighbor, Kathy Burns, 80, said the heat has been difficult for her husband, who is 92 and has asthma. She used a generator to charge her phone but could not run her window air conditioner.

In Detroit, Sean Agnew, 42, said his power had been restored but the storm caused flooding in his basement and many traffic lights remained out. He said he avoided buying food near his neighborhood on Joy Road and Wyoming Avenue because he worried restaurants and stores would not discard spoiled inventory.

The Detroit Zoo announced on Saturday that it would close for the holiday due to a power outage, according to ClickOnDetroit.

How DTE explains the delay

Brian Calka, senior vice president of distribution operations for DTE Energy's Electric Division, said the damage was worse than expected because large trees outside utility easements fell during the storms. Those trees are not part of DTE's regular trimming program unless they are diseased, he said.

"The conditions that they have been working in have been extremely, extremely difficult," Calka said at a Monday press conference. "However, I'm happy to report that we've restored over 325,000 customers in less than 48 hours."

Calka said around 2,000 power lines were down after the storm. Replacing a single pole takes three to five hours depending on location, he told CBS Detroit. Crews from 12 states and Canada were called in to help. DTE faced challenges recruiting outside help because states like Illinois and New Jersey had their own outages over the holidays, Calka said.

The company said it expects to restore power to 95% of impacted customers by the end of Monday, with remaining customers restored by Tuesday.

Political pressure mounts

Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, demanded that a Republican-led House oversight panel hold hearings on the outages. She said the failures led to spoiled food and medication and disrupted lives.

"The failure to respond in a timely and effective manner requires more direct state intervention," Farhat said, according to the Detroit News.

DTE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Farhat's demand for a hearing.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel urged customers to use her office's Power Outage Credit Feedback and Inquiry Form to report extended outages. She said her office would hold utilities accountable and ensure ratepayers receive credits they are legally owed.

What customers can claim

DTE said eligible customers will automatically receive a $42 daily credit on their bills for a prolonged outage. The credit applies to an extended outage of more than 48 hours caused by an incident resulting in power interruptions of more than 1% but less than 10% of DTE's electric customers, according to DTE's website.

"The $42 is a significant increase relative to where that was at before. But at the same time, we recognize it might not necessarily cover all of the costs tied to food expiring or what have you do to the outage," Calka said.

DTE has contacted more than 8,000 senior citizen and low-income customers, conducted numerous wellness checks, and distributed 131 generators to support vulnerable customers, Calka said. Four community vans were deployed to hard-hit areas to provide bottled water, cellphone charging stations, and information.

Outages by county

According to PowerOutage.com data from Monday morning:

  • Wayne County: 51,446 customers without power
  • Oakland County: 11,882 customers
  • Monroe County: 6,801 customers
  • Washtenaw County: 4,832 customers
  • Macomb County: 4,420 customers

Monroe County had the highest impact percentage-wise, with 9.19% of the county's electric customers without power Monday morning, according to CBS Detroit.

What is closed

Several facilities closed or canceled services due to the outages:

  • The City of Berkeley Community Center is closed until further notice
  • Dearborn Heights City Hall is closed Monday
  • The Monroe County office of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is closed until further notice
  • Monroe Public Schools canceled summer school classes, athletics, and most activities for Monday
  • Ypsilanti Community Schools canceled Grizzly Learning Camp and Bright Futures programs for Monday

More storms possible

The National Weather Service said scattered showers and thunderstorms capable of intense rainfall rates and localized flooding were possible later Monday for areas around Detroit and near the Ohio border. High pressure and drier air were expected to build into the region by Monday afternoon, with temperatures warming toward 90 degrees by mid-week.