DETROIT (WWJ) - With the weather expected to take a dangerous turn overnight, DTE Energy has placed over 2,500 employees and contractors on standby.
Widespread power outages are possible, according to forecasters, when Winter Weather Advisory goes into effect for all of Southeast Michigan after midnight Tuesday.
"At this point in time we're preparing for the worst," DTE's Director of Field Operations Brian Calka told WWJ, Tuesday afternoon. "What that means to us is upwards of half-an-inch of ice across our entire territory."
"We design our systems to be able to withstand, you know, the environmental forces that can be put on them," he added. "But not to say that ice building up on our power lines could find some kind of a weak point infrastructure that has to be replaced -- which can take a little bit longer than our average type of an outage that we have to restore."
Calka said, with that in mind, the call for help has been made to utility partners in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
"This morning we reached out to our Great Lakes Mutual Assistance Group, which is a consortium of utilities here in the Midwest, and we've asked for an incremental 300 line workers above and beyond the line workers we have on property right now," he said.
The public is reminded that if you encounter a downed power line always assume it is live and energized, and stay at least 20 feet away; not only from the power line, but also anything it may be in contact with. Make sure to keep children and pets away, too.
If you do lose power or see a downed line, DTE asked customers to report it and get an estimate on power restoration using the following other methods:
- Download the DTE Energy Mobile app from the App Store or from Google Play.
- On the DTE website
- Or by calling DTE at 800-477-4747
((CLICK HERE TO SEE THE DTE OUTAGE MAP))
AccuWeather says sleet and freezing rain will strike the metro Detroit area overnight, making for treacherous travel conditions during the Wednesday morning commute. Total ice accumulations of one tenth to a quarter of an inch expected, with higher amounts possible in some areas, before temperatures warm up above freezing.
MORE: Ice Storm Moves In: Messy Morning Commute Expected Around Metro Detroit
