For thousands of Metro Detroit seniors, the power outage that began Friday is more than an inconvenience; it can be dangerous.
Around 400,000 customers lost electricity after Friday’s storms.
As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 20,000 remained without power.
While DTE Energy said it has been prioritizing its most vulnerable customers, some seniors and their families say they have not heard a word from the company in the past four days.
‘No contact whatsoever’
Jim Nielson has made seven trips to his 88-year-old mother’s home in Warren since her power went out Friday night.
He said DTE originally told his mother her power would be restored by Monday, but it was later updated to Wednesday.
“DTE says they are reaching out to seniors and are going to help them with water and generators, but no one has contacted my ma,” Nielson said. “She’s 88 years old, and there’s been no contact whatsoever.”
Food spoilage has become a growing concern inside his mother’s home.
“You know everything is starting to thaw,” Nielson said. “Refrigerator is out, and all her food is going to waste.”
After nearly five days, Nielson’s patience is running out.
“We understand emergencies, and that power will go out, but for four or five days, it’s uncalled for,” he said.
Seniors stuck with no elevator
Residents at Parkside Senior Apartments in Livonia were also among those calling Local 4 for help.
The three-story building has no elevator, leaving some elderly residents stranded.
“I mean, it’s terrible. There are actually people stuck on the second and third floor,” said the son of one of the residents.
Resident Eve Berthiaume called the experience a nightmare.
“Walking up three flights of steps, I’m ready to drop dead,” Berthiaume said.
While conducting interviews, Local 4 witnessed power returning to the complex.
DTE says it is prioritizing vulnerable customers
DTE Energy President and CEO Joi Harris said Tuesday the company has contacted nearly 20,000 seniors and low-income customers since Friday, conducted wellness checks and distributed 175 generators to customers who rely on medical equipment.
She said approximately 4,000 workers from Canada and 12 other states have been working around the clock on restoration efforts.
Harris explained that the storm’s sudden arrival made preparation difficult.
“I would say that this weather event came on rather suddenly. We did not have the typical advance warning. When we have advance warning, we stage crews, and we have them waiting until the storm clears,” said Harris. “We did not get the severe weather warnings until like 90 minutes before the storm actually hit. That left us in a position where we had to secure additional crews in a timeframe that is much shorter than what we typically experience.”
Harris also described the extent of the damage crews are working to repair.
“We have broken trees, we have broken poles, broken crossarms, so we are literally in some cases rebuilding the circuits one customer at a time,” Harris said.
By Tuesday (July 7), Harris said the company was on track to meet its restoration goal.
“We are on track to get 100 percent of the customers online tonight,” Harris said.