DTE Energy Says It Will Spend More Money On Tree Trimming

DETROIT (AP) — DTE Energy, under fire for summer power outages in southeastern Michigan, said Wednesday, Sept. 1, it would spend millions more to trim trees.

The utility said it would spend $70 million through 2023 on top of $190 million set aside for tree trimming each year. Tree trimming reduces the risk of branches falling on power lines during storms.

"The extreme weather we experienced this summer — nine hard-hitting, severe storms in nine weeks — is something we have never experienced," DTE chief executive Jerry Norcia said.

Customers with outages that have lasted for days are fed up with DTE. Attorney General Dana Nessel has encouraged people to go online and inform her staff about extended power losses.

"It remains unacceptable that Michigan residents have grown to expect power outages every time there's severe weather in the forecast," Nessel said last week.

In a filing with state regulators, DTE said the extreme summer weather has been "unprecedented and challenging" for electricity customers, with about 25% losing power in the last storm.

It asked the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve the plan no later than October.