Outages in Washtenaw County Still impacting Almost 40 Percent of all DTE Customers

Note: Updated on Feb. 24 with a statement from City Administrator Milton Dohoney.

by P.D. Lesko

According to an email Ann Arbor Council member Lisa Disch (D-Ward 1) sent Feb. 23, two-third of Ann Arbor residents were without power one day after a powerful ice storm hit Washtenaw County. Disch wrote to an unknown number of constituents who receive her email newsletter: “DTE reports that approximately 17,000 customers in the city are without power, which the City estimates is approximately 2/3rds of the city. The outages are mostly related to downed tree limbs that have struck power lines, causing a large number of small scale outages. DTE has not provided an estimate at this point on how long it will take to restore power, but City Staff assume it may take several days.”

On Feb. 24 City Administrator Milton Dohoney issued a press release in which he wrote that “downed power lines and tree debris [left] more than 40% of our community without power,” contradicting Disch’s assertions the day before. Dohoney went on to thank city staff. He also thanked community members for their “patience.”

As of 3 p.m. Feb. 24, DTE’s outage map shows that 38 percent of Washtenaw County customers are still without power, some 64,984 customers. According to DTE officials, Washtenaw County has the most outages and the most customers without power within the lower southeastern Michigan area served by the power company. In Jan. 2023, DTE officials announced they would begin charging surge pricing in Mar. 2023.

The peak hours will run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. during weekdays, for a total of 20 hours per week. The other 148 hours of the week, including the entire weekend, will be charged at a lower rate, 15.45 cents per kilowatt hour, DTE explains in a primer on its website.

Local and County Officials are still setting up warming centers.

Ann Arbor set up three overnight warming centers as night-time temperatures over the next few evenings are expected to be in the teens and 20s. On Feb. 25, Ann Arbor officials announced: “As widespread power outages continue, overnight warming centers are open for community members in need: Northside Community Center (809 Taylor St.) is open now until Feb. 25 at noon. Lord of Light Lutheran Church (801 S. Forest Ave.) is open now until Feb. 25 at 10 a.m.”

City officials said that more nights could be added depending on “volunteer capacity.”

In 2023, Council approved adding $59,003 to the City’s budget for a part-time Emergency Management Specialist in the Ann Arbor Fire Dept. The City Administrator is responsible for the oversight of the City’s Emergency Action Plan, which is reviewed annually and was last reviewed in 2022. The City’s Safety Services area (police and fire) are charged with “a broad array of services such as: Citywide emergency preparedness and education,” according to the City’s most recent budget.

On Feb. 22, amid the storm, an Ann Arbor Police officer, Howard Cooper, was attempting to clear a tree which had fallen across Devonshire, in Ward 2. U-M football coach Jim Harbaugh stopped to help Cooper remove the huge tree. By Feb. 23, according to AAPD officials, AAPD officers had “responded to about 85 weather related calls during the ice storm. A vast majority of those were due to fallen trees or debris in the road.” On Feb. 24, Milton Dohoney stated in his press release that the AAPD had “responded to 376 calls for service.” In comparison, according to Crimemapping.com, during Feb. 17-23, the AAPD responded to 82 calls for service.

There is a county-wide list of “winter havens” for shelter here.

AADL announced all of its branch libraries would remain open until 10 p.m., but the downtown library closes at 8 p.m.

“Stay warm, stay entertained, and charge up!” AADL officials posted on Facebook, announcing the extended library times.

One overnight shelter in Ypsilanti opened in the Eagle Crest Center, operated by the American Red Cross. Three Ypsilanti day shelters are open from 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Ypsilanti’s Mayor Nicole Brown has issued no statement about how the storm has impacted the residents of her city. That City’s website has no links to information about warming shelters, only an announcement that City Hall will resume services on Feb. 24. Brown’s Facebook page was last updated Feb. 17 with photos and videos of herself on a trip to Washington, DC. where she had a “wonderful time and an unforgettable experience.”

Ann Arbor Councilmember Disch also told her constituents in an email: “City forestry crews are working to remove the substantial number of trees that are blocking city roads. The Fire Department is responding to a significant number of calls for downed power lines, damaged homes, and other emergencies.”

There are no “city forestry crews.”

According to the City’s $530 million 2023 budget, there is only 1 FTE for urban forestry and natural resources in the Park’s Dept. The Parks Dept. in 2023 was allocated 40.03 FTEs. Forestry is overseen by the City’s Community Services administrator ​Derek Delacourt. The City has hired contractors to do its urban forestry work for many years in order to shift general fund dollars away from Parks and, instead, use the Parks millage to fund other operational expenses.

Milton Dohoney in his Feb. 25 press release said, “A plan will be developed in the coming days and communicated related to debris clean-up and timing.”

Disch, in her email, recommended to her constituents that they could go to the People’s Food Co-op and the Argus Farm stop to warm up. No one from the PFC or Argus Farm stop had been contacted by Disch or anyone from the City before Disch made her announcement.

It’s unclear how quickly the City will be able to hire the needed forestry contractors in order to do the work necessary to clean up from the recent icestorm.