DTE Energy "prepared as possible" for Michigan winter storm
(CBS DETROIT) - Leaders with DTE Energy say awareness is one of the most important factors during a winter storm.
The preparation before and after can make the difference between shelling out hundreds of dollars or losing your power.
People with the power company gave us plenty of tips for how to stay safe and aware during winter storms.
"In all, we have thousands of people geared up and ready to assist with restoration, and more specifically, we have 1,100 linemen at both DTE and around the country to help support our customers in need of these restoration outages," said Bill Hutchinson, DTE Energy's director of storm emergency preparedness and response. "If a customer does experience an outage, please know we know how disruptive and uncomfortable it is to be without power, and everyone at DTE is committed to getting your service restored as safely and quickly as possible."
The winter storm is expected to reach Michigan Friday afternoon and extends through the weekend.
Michigan's weather forecast will be dominated by snow, rain, wind and bitterly cold temperatures over the next few days.
Hutchinson said DTE is doing the best it can to get ahead of this storm and have people on standby to assist with outages and damage quickly and safely.
What is referred to as wire-down response teams will be available and ready to help at a moment's notice, according to DTE Energy leaders.
Hutchinson added this weekend, people need to practice safety and call DTE 800-477-4747 or 911 depending on the severity of their outage and issues caused by the storm.
"A particular concern of mine this weekend is the drop in temperature," said Hutchinson. "It's going to be cold outside, so while we hope to see limited impact to our electric system, it is important to be prepared and check in on others if they need assistance."
Be prepared and keep an eye out for outages at your house or neighborhood.