(WWJ) The severe winter weather has plunged more than 160,000 DTE customers into darkness, many of whom were already without power for more than five days last week.
As of 10 p.m. Friday, the DTE Outage Center showed approximately 162,000 outages across the utility company's service area due to the ongoing winter storm.
The most recent update from DTE's website states the following:
Wet, heavy snow has hit Southeast Michigan, and DTE’s Storm Response Teams are working hard to restore power to impacted customers. Report any outage or downed power line.
Tree limbs weakened by the recent ice storm can be weighed down by the snow, coming in contact with and bringing down power lines. Please stay safe. Keep at least 25 feet away from any downed power lines and anything they are in contact with — consider them live and dangerous.
The DTE Outage Map shows the majority of outages concentrated in Detroit, with large sections of western Wayne County -- including Wayne, Westland and Livonia -- and the Downriver area affected as well.
In Oakland County, a significant number of outages are reported in and around Novi and Farmington Hills in addition to Royal Oak and Madison Heights.
Outages also span Macomb County, with most issues reported in Sterling Heights, Clinton Twp and Fraser. Looking west, many in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti are in the dark now, too.
Watch Out for Downed Power Lines:
Tipsters reported downed lines at 12 Mile Rd and Woodward in Berkley, on 15 Mile Rd between Groesbeck Highway and Kelly Rd in Clinton Twp and on Hoover Rd, north of 8 Mile in Warren.
Remember to stay at least 25 feet away from any downed wires as well as any nearby fences or puddles wires may be touching. According to DTE, it is best to assume that all wires are live and dangerous, even if you don't see sparks or smoke. Finally, do not drive over a downed wire. If a wire falls on your car, stay inside the vehicle and call 911.
An Unfortunate Case of Deja Vu:
More than 600,OOO DTE customers lost power last week when an ice storm hit southeastern Michigan. Five days after the initial outages, nearly 90,000 customers were still in the dark, leading state legislators to call for hearings into the cause of the long service delays.
In the meantime, DTE has said that customers who lost power for four or more days will receive an automatic $35 credit to their account.
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