DTE Power Outage Credit: How to recoup money following severe weather
Frustration grows over ongoing power outages
Since Friday, many of these residents say they've been left in the dark, without air conditioning, and now much of their food has spoiled.
(FOX 2) - Wasted food, no relief from high temperatures, and angry customers.
Days after severe weather knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of homes across Southeast Michigan, outages remain a problem for neighborhoods around Metro Detroit.
As of the morning of July 8, more than 5,000 homes are still suffering from no electricity.
DTE: Storm developed quickly
Big picture view:
DTE Energy's CEO said on Tuesday the company recognized the size of the problem and was deeply sorry for the length of the outage.
Chief Executive Officer Joi Harris said the speed that the storm developed, the holiday weekend, and the intense heat wave prior to the storm "contributed to this being a highly unique event."
Had the company been ready for the type of weather event, more crews would have been stationed and ready to respond.
Metro Detroit residents losing patience over power outages as food spoils
Residents have been contacting the FOX 2 Problem Solvers, upset that their power is still out. Many people were preparing to cook out and celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.
DTE Outage Credit
Dig deeper:
The utility offers a bill credit for extended outages.
Customers may receive $42 in bill credit if they lose power under certain conditions. Customers that experienced an extended outage will be eligible for the credit if the following took place:
- A power outage of more than 16 hours due to an event that knocks out power for less than 1% of DTE electric customers
- A power outage of more than 48 hours due to an event that knocks out power for more than 1% but less than 10% of customers
- A power outage of more than 96 hours due to an event that knocked out more than 10% of DTE electric customers.
Customers that qualify will not need to submit a request. Instead, the credit will be provided automatically within 1–2 billing cycles.
Small Business: We 'are not ok'
In a lengthy, passionate post on social media, JP McGuire's Bar N Grill lamented the lack of service provided by DTE during the outage and prior to the storms.
"We pay thousands and thousands of dollars a month for your below sub standard services. The amount of times we lose power a year, is absolutely deplorable, but yet, somehow rates are raised every single year on us. Pay more and get less, should be your business slogan with DTE."
Krissy McGuire, the author of the post who manages several downriver businesses, described "frantic panic and unwavering stress" due to losing power.
The Source: DTE, JP McGuire's Bar N Grill,