DTE Energy has announced its plans for a US$7billion, five-year investment in southeast Michigan’s electric grid, preparing the state for the 21st century demands posed by automobility/electrification, increasingly severe weather trends, and the fast-evolving needs of consumers and businesses.
The investment was detailed in a filing with the Michigan Public Service Commission on Sept. 30 and complements DTE’s vast, forwarding-looking plan to harden and upgrade the grid for the next 10 to 15 years.
“This visionary plan recognizes that our customers’ homes and businesses interact with the electric grid in ways we couldn’t imagine just 20 years ago, and the future of mobility is being revolutionized again in Michigan through electrification, all of which means the grid we share must be adapted to the 21st century,” said Jerry Norcia, president and CEO, DTE Energy. “Much of our grid was designed and built more than a century ago, providing customers the energy required for a much simpler day-to-day life.”
The plan includes a multi-billion-dollar investment to combat power outages due to a global increase in storm frequency and strength. These investments include increased automation, self-healing circuits, pole maintenance, tree trimming, and projects that modernize the grid’s oldest infrastructure, especially for our most vulnerable customers. In addition, DTE is planning pilot projects to study the cost and benefits of non-wire alternatives, like energy storage, and burying existing overhead power lines in residential areas.
These planned investments will minimize more costly outages and allow DTE to build and operate a clean, affordable, reliable, resilient, and accessible grid that will support the evolving needs of its customers and the State of Michigan well into the future.
Responding to the day-to-day needs of home and business owners, and investing in infrastructure critical to continued economic development, DTE plans to upgrade and build new substations throughout its footprint to better serve all customers. The new investment will increase electric capacity in southeast Michigan to support the needs of consumers and businesses moving toward electrification, creating a more reliable and cleaner grid.
The plan also includes new technology and integration to support the increased efficiency of the electric grid along with customers’ increasing adoption of private solar generation and storage.
