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More than 260,000 DTE Energy customers in Southeast Michigan are without power Thursday evening following a line of intense thunderstorms on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon.
DTE’s outage map showed more than 265,000 power interruptions at 11 p.m. Thursday.
The number of outages had continued to grow overnight and through early morning, improving slightly at one point but then picking up again after a line of thunderstorms moved through the region during the late morning. Most of those affected are in Oakland or Wayne counties, but Livingston County residents also were hit hard by power outages.
As a comparison, there were over 168,000 power outages in the aftermath of the July 3 severe weather in Southeast Michigan.
DTE provides electricity to most of Southeast Michigan. “DTE’s Storm Response Teams are working hard to restore power to impacted customers as quickly and safely as possible,” the utility company posted on its website Thursday morning.
Wind gusts of up to 70 mph were reported in Howell, up to 51 mph at Detroit City Airport, as the storms developed.
Storm damage in Center Line included a tree that fell onto a car and blocked the street.
CBS News Detroit
The storm damage includes a tree that fell on a house in Madison Heights. There was also significant storm damage reported in Center Line. Detroit Metro had some flight delays and closings. The Michigan Department of Transportation said flooding temporarily blocked lanes overnight on eastbound I-94 near Gratiot Avenue in Wayne County. There are also multiple local roads closed in Livingston County’s Brighton Township.
A tent was broken with some banners shredded at Campus Martius in Detroit.
The circumstances also led to traffic lights being out at intersections, downed tree limbs, and several school closings.
A tree fell on a house in Madison Heights, Michigan, as a result of intense storms that rolled through Metro Detroit.
CBS News Detroit
What DTE is doing
DTE said it had been monitoring forecasts and preparing for Wednesday night’s weather for several days in advance, scheduling crews and resources before the storms arrived.
As of Thursday morning, more than 2,600 DTE Storm Response Team members had been assigned to handle the power outage response, including 400 lineworkers who were brought in from out of state.
“We know how difficult being without power is. We are doing everything in our power to restore service as quickly and safely as possible,” DTE said.
The company expects to give its next storm update to area media about 2 p.m.
Power outages and food safety
If you lose power to a refrigerator or freezer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says to keep the doors closed on those appliances. A fully stocked refrigerator can stay cold for about four hours; if the power outage lasts longer, then transfer perishable foods into a cooler stocked with ice. A freezer will keep its temperature for 24 hours if half full, or 48 hours if full.
The Michigan State University extension service has a list of commonly refrigerated foods and whether they can be saved if the power goes out.
Power outages and SNAP benefits
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says families who purchased food with SNAP assistance, but lost electricity for at least four hours due to a power outage, may be eligible to receive some of their money back.
Those impacted must contact their local MDHHS office, apply within 10 days of the outage, detail what they lost, including the dollar amount, and provide proof of power loss to receive new funds.
Power outage bill credits
Michigan utility companies are required by law to credit customers $42 a day for expenses related to long-duration power outages. But it takes 2 days or more without power to qualify in most circumstances.
The eligibility requirements for an automatic power outage credit are as follows:
96 hours during catastrophic conditions, defined as a utility having 10% or more of its customers without power.
48 hours of gray-sky conditions that affect between 1% and 10% of a utility’s customers.
16 hours during normal conditions.
This is a developing news story. CBS News Detroit will continue to provide details online and on air as they are available.
