Demand DTE to Offer Power Protection Rights for Electric Customers

Last week's power outage was an eye opening experience for everyone in Michigan (MI). The hardworking line crews and out-of-state line crews did a fabulous job getting everyone's power restored. However, we need to realize this was just a wind storm that took down 800,000 customers!

Like everyone else in southeastern MI, the historic windstorm of March 8th was a culmination of many of the ongoing electrical issues we have. In our area we continuously lose power which was confirmed by DTE. We are frequent outage customers.

In today's time, the loss of power is substantial for many people. The power outage occurred when it was quite frigid in MI. People were forced to be without heat and had to empty out their refrigerators. Also, in this day and age, kids couldn’t get their homework assignments or complete homework without having access to the internet due to a loss of power. These issues need to be mitigated before another large scale disaster hits!

Being that there are no alternatives for consumers to go to for electric power, we are proposing a consumer's electric right’s bill for our legislator which would be called the Power and Energy Consumer Right’s Bill. It would simply state if one is without power for more than 4 days, you are reimbursed $50 for EACH day you are without power. This will hopefully have a three-fold benefit. It allows for consumer rights for allowing them to recoup much of the loss they suffered for being without power. And, it will get the power company to work out any issues before they occur such as fixing outdated equipment or trimming trees well beforehand, and get a speedier response from them.

DTE is quick to raise our electric bills yet when we ask for help, we are told no, so the fixes are put off for another day. This bill would only be fair since we are paying for a service we are not receiving when the power goes out. And, I believe it It may expedite power restoration efforts. With DTE knowing they will have to pay, it will cause them to address ongoing issues prior to any large outage, like in this case.