DTE, Consumers aim to restore power to majority of customers Sunday

DTE Energy and Consumers Energy are making their final push to restore power in the wake of Wednesday's historic ice storm.

Leaders of both utilities said Thursday crews aimed to have 95% of customers affected by this week's ice storm back online by the end of Sunday.

Sunday morning, both DTE and Consumers said that remains their goal as more than 200,000 Michigan customers are still without power.

At 7:30 a.m. Sunday, DTE said it had restored power to more than 450,000 customers since the ice storm began and plans to restore power to a majority of customers Sunday including "the area’s K-12 schools today so that classes can resume in the morning (Monday)."

"Our team will be working around the clock to restore power to both customers affected by the storm, and any additional customers who have had a power interruption since Wednesday," DTE said in a press release Sunday.

At 1:15 p.m. Sunday DTE reported 92.39% of its customers with power and 171,228 customers remaining without.

DTE President and CEO Jerry Norcia had promised to have approximately 90% of its customers back with power by the end of Friday, but did not reach that mark not until Saturday afternoon.

Consumers Energy said crews have made good progress this weekend. Most customers should have power restored today and all should have it Monday, the utility said.

“We’re grateful to people in the communities we serve for their patience and understanding these last few days, and we look forward to getting the lights back on for every single customer,” Norm Kapala, one of Consumers Energy’s officers in charge, said in a press release.

At 1:19 p.m. Sunday Consumers reported 95.8% of its customers with power and 36,807 customers remaining without.

About 2,000 workers from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia are continuing to restore power across southern Michigan communities that saw freezing rain, sleet, icy roads, and heavy winds last week.

Several warming and respite centers are open around the city of Detroit, including Detroit public libraries, which are operating under normal business hours and under COVID-19 protocols.

24-hour warming centers

• Patton Recreation Center, 2301 Woodmere, open through Monday at 8 a.m.
• Farwell Recreation Center, 2711 E. Outer Drive, open through Monday at 8 a.m.