Detroit has always been an innovative city — from music to automobiles to being among the first cities in the country to provide electricity. DTE is supporting Detroit’s great resurgence by modernizing its infrastructure to ensure the city has the reliability power it needs to support the growth and innovation of today and tomorrow.
Since 2020, DTE has been investing more than $200 million to rebuild the infrastructure that delivers power to homes and businesses in Detroit’s Cultural Center, Eastern Market, Forest Park, McDougall-Hunt northern Midtown, Medbury Park, Medical Center, Poletown East and Wayne State neighborhoods.
The work, which is expected to be completed by 2030, includes:
- Removing and replacing around 60 miles of cables, transformers and other electrical equipment that deliver power to communities in the area.
- Installing new, stronger utility poles that are more resilient to extreme weather.
- Trimming around 12 miles of trees near power lines. This helps make room for the new infrastructure and improves reliability for our customers.
“DTE has a four-point plan to improve electric reliability — trimming trees, upgrading existing infrastructure, rebuilding older sections of the grid and accelerating our transition to a smart grid,” said Nathan Buenello, DTE underground project manager. “This project is part of that plan and will improve safety and keep customers in power, especially during extreme weather.”
Additionally, the new infrastructure will increase the grid’s capacity to support existing and new residents and businesses, including new developments in Detroit’s Eastern Market, Milwaukee Junction and Midtown areas. Some of the new developments include the Fisher Body Building, Shed X South, Selden Alley, Piquette Building, iHeart Radio, WSU Gateway Theatre, Sugar Hill and EW Grobbel.
The added capacity also will help DTE support clean energy solutions like electric vehicles and a more electrified lifestyle.
What’s been done and what’s next?
Since 2021, crews have been working to install new underground pipes in the Midtown area. These pipes, also known as conduit, help protect the wires that run under the city streets from getting damaged.
Soon, DTE will start installing new underground cables and working on overhead infrastructure. This includes installing new poles, wires, transformers and other electrical equipment that deliver power to the Midtown area.
How can I keep up to date on this work?
This project is just one example of the work included in DTE’s four-point plan to improve reliability for customers. You can stay up to date on this project and other work happening in your neighborhood at empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements.
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