Lansing — Michigan energy regulators authorized an investigation Thursday into DTE Energy and Consumers Energy regarding widespread power outages over the Fourth of July holiday in southeast Michigan.
The three-member Michigan Public Service Commission also voted in favor of adopting “extreme weather condition policies” that utilities must comply with.
The investigation requires DTE Energy, Consumers Energy and Indiana Michigan Power Company to prepare a report by Aug. 27 on what they did to prepare for the July 3 severe storms that caused the outages that stretched into the holiday weekend, how they responded, what type of communication they maintained with customers and where they fell short.
The outages, said MPSC member Katherine Peretick, lasted too long.
“Michigan experiences severe weather,” said Katherine Peretick, a member of the Michigan Public Service Commission. “While we cannot prevent storms, we can and should expect our utilities to prepare for them, to respond effectively when they occur and to communicate clearly and accurately with the customers who rely on them.”
MPSC Chairman Dan Scripps acknowledged the “real frustration” among customers and the need for accountability and improvement.
“It’s also clear that the utilities in this instance were caught unprepared for both the severity of the storms and the duration of the outages,” Scripps said.
The order comes after the commission received more than 1,500 complaints about the holiday weekend outage.
Consumers Energy, in a statement Thursday, said the Jackson-based company understands the frustration customers may have felt and said crews “worked around the clock” to restore power.
“We look forward to providing all requested information to support the investigation while monitoring and preparing for whatever severe weather might come our way,” said Brian Wheeler, a spokesman for the utility. “We are committed to learning and improving from each major storm.”
DTE Energy said it was committed to reviewing the storm outages and the Detroit-based company’s response as well as strengthening reliability.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the commission on our shared goal of delivering for our customers by improving the electric reliability of Michigan as extreme weather becomes even more frequent and severe,” said Bradley Carroll, a spokesman for DTE.
More than 500,000 people in Michigan were without power for several days over the Independence Day holiday due to a severe storm on July 3 that toppled branches over power lines across the state.
The utilities offered power outage credits for extended outages. But Detroit U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib said the reimbursements don’t cover what customers lose in outages.
“Our groceries will be spoiled and our medicines will not be usable. Yet, the Michigan Public Services Commission thinks $25 to $35 reimbursement rate is reasonable. It is not,” Tlaib said in a Facebook post.
Farmington Hills Mayor Theresa Rich expressed frustration Thursday over the prolonged outages, noting they affect the city’s most vulnerable residents and cost the city money as it attempts to babysit downed wires amid DTE’s delayed responses.
“The reality is DTE gets rate increases, but we’re the ones paying for a lot of it, and we do not,” Rich said during the meeting.
Kess Ballentine, of Detroit, told commissioners that DTE was the worst company she’s ever purchased electricity from and the most expensive.
“I have paid electric bills in three states with four different electric utility companies in my adult life,” Ballentine said. “I can count on one hand the number of times in my entire life prior to living in Michigan that my power was out in North Carolina and Pennsylvania combined. This does not happen in other jurisdictions.”
The extreme weather condition policies approved by the commission Thursday are meant to establish uniform protocol among utilities in the event of extreme cold, heat or storms.
The policies adopted include shutoff pauses if the temperature dips below 20 degrees or peaks above 90 degrees or for 24 hours before and after extreme weather events. Utilities also will be required to file reports with the commission on the number of extreme weather events each quarter.
MPSC staff also was directed to work on an air-quality index threshold that would trigger shutoff pauses.
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan regulators order probe of DTE, Consumers over July 4 outages
Reporting by Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Beth LeBlanc, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
