DETROIT, Mich., Feb. 27, 2023 — More than 600,000 customers of Detroit-based DTE Energy lost power when the ice storm hit the state last Wednesday, Feb. 22. Due to the high volume of outages, continued rains and high winds, thousands of households and businesses remain without power. With an increase in extreme weather storms, many have called on leadership at DTE and Consumers Energy to better prepare to act quickly during severe climate events. State Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit) — chair of the Energy, Communications and Technology committee and vice chair of the Detroit caucus — issued the following statement:

“The safety of Detroit residents, and everyone across our state, is my utmost, foremost priority. I have been in frequent contact with leadership at our Detroit utilities, and I can assure you, line crews are working very hard to restore power and remove all downed power lines — I want to give my sincere thank you to those who have been working around the clock. That being said, there are still downed wires that need to be cleared and power that needs to be restored — these issues need to be remedied ASAP, so that Detroiters stay safe and warm. Public safety is the immediate need we are focusing on; however, once things have settled down, rest assured that my colleagues and I are going to take a very close look at the utility companies and anyone who should be held accountable for things taking so long. We keep seeing more frequent intense storms, so we need improved infrastructure and well-prepared utilities to ensure fast restoration times during weather events like these. I will keep working to make sure our communities are safe and adequately served.”

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