Thousands still wait for power to turn on after Friday’s winter storm
By Kiara Hay
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MICHIGAN (WXYZ) — Frustrations continue to run high after back-to-back winter storms slammed metro Detroit. As of Monday morning, tens of thousands are still without power and they’re demanding answers.
DTE said most customers should be back online by the end of the day on Monday.
The company’s outage center is reporting 25,000 without power, and it’s been a long weekend for so many families after Friday’s snowstorm.
Neighbors in Royal Oak witnessed what they’re calling a fireball racing along power lines this weekend.
It surged down the street in Royal Oak, sparking fear and frustration among neighbors.
“We kind of like collected our breath and were wondering will it happen again? Will it hit a transformer over there and cause an explosion?” Brad McDonald told us.
Thankfully, it did not hit the transformer, but McDonald said the spark was reignited three times on Saturday after a smaller fireball on Friday when the neighborhood lost power.
“We have one of the largest electric grids and one of the oldest,” DTE President Trevor Lauer said.
In an update on Sunday, he promised a majority of customers should have their power restored today, and preventing future blackouts will take time and money.
“I use the analogy of roads all the time. We need to rebuild it and we need to invest in it,” he said.
McDonald said he wants to see more action.
“It seems like there’s no proactive maintenance and it’s all reactive maintenance,” he said.
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