OXFORD, Mich. – Remember Christmas 2013?
For hundreds of thousands it was frozen over and powerless, but after year-long investigation state regulators are pointing the finger at DTE Energy and Consumers Energy for not properly trimming trees.
"This is a storm I will never forget," said Angela Alshabi, of Oxford.
The Alshabi family lost power for three days last December and it was miserable days before Christmas.
"I just remember trying to keep my kids warm and thinking how am I going to save Christmas dinner," said Angela.
When you look at Angela's yard you can see why this neighborhood was a victim of the storm -- wires and trees, trees and wires. As soon as the ice storm rolled in, their power went out. Even a year later the memories of the crippling storm still make her cringe.
"I remember my neighbor's house caught fire from a down wire," said Angela. "It was just terrible, they lost everything."
State officials also were cringing and launched an investigation. The Michigan Public Service Commission says 40 percent of the outages caused by the frozen trees were from branches and limbs that should have been cleared by DTE Energy and Consumers Energy in the past, but were ignored.
"I hope this was a wake up call that some of these trees have got to go," said Alshabi.
State regulators have ordered both companies to step up their tree removal process in 2015 -- bottom line: get more aggressive.
Local 4 contacted DTE who said they already have a revised plan in place and ready to go.
Here is the company's statement:
"DTE has implemented a new, more aggressive ground-to-sky program. We've done this in part to Michigan's changing weather patterns, which have necessitated the need for a more aggressive program. The program is different than our traditional tree-trimming initiatives in that it involves:
• Removal of all trees and branches so there is no overhang above power lines.
• Removal of trees underneath power lines, if they are a species that consistently grows into power lines, causing outages. We will trim trees and vegetation so that branches do not grow into our equipment for five years.
• While we will make every effort to work with our customers, we will no longer ask permission to remove trees that interfere with or pose a threat to our equipment. But, we will remove all brush and tree debris from customers' yards impacted by the project.
We agree with the commission and look forward to working with them to give our customers the reliability they want and deserve. We know that outages are frustrating and inconvenient for our customers. That's why we set a high standard for our electric reliability performance. Some areas are below that standard, which is why we're taking action. Tree-related damage is responsible for two thirds of the power outages that occur during wind and ice storms."
Besides the tree-trimming changes, both utility giants were ordered to revise their websites to make it easier for customers to request credits on their bills when they've had an outage.