DETROIT – DTE Energy is ramping up its efforts to prevent power outages and enhance safety across its coverage area through the installation of advanced smart grid technology.
The utility company is deploying reclosers -- 800-pound smart grid devices that can quickly identify damage during outages and reroute power to maintain service to homes.
For Detroit residents like Sophia Hardaway, who maintains multiple refrigerators and a deep freezer in her home, this technology could provide welcome relief from costly power disruptions.
“It’s very frustrating,” Hardaway said, describing her experience with power outages.
The reclosers serve dual purposes of efficiency and safety, according to Morgan Elliott Andahazy, DTE’s Project Management Organization Director.
“Without these devices, when there is a circuit-level outage, we send the crew out to the circuit; they have to patrol the entire area to see where the damage has occurred and then start their restoration efforts,” Andahazy explained.
Beyond faster outage detection, the smart devices allow for quicker action with downed power lines.
“When there is a downed power line on the circuit, these devices will identify that, and they cut off power so that wire that is laying on the ground is deenergized, so if anyone would come in contact with it, they wouldn’t be in harm’s way,” Andahazy said.
The company will install 675 additional reclosers by the end of this year, bringing the total number of reclosers to over 1,200.
DTE said reclosers have prevented over 16,000 power outages this year alone.
By 2029, the utility aims to reduce power outages by 30 percent and halve the average outage duration.
DTE recommends staying at least 25 feet - or the length of a school bus - away from all downed power lines and to assume they are live and dangerous. You can report downed power lines via DTE’s Outage Center.
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