If you agree, you can comment on the case here: mi-psc.my.site.com/s/case/500cs...
This is our last post in our 11x11 series - hope it has been informative! We file our rate case testimony against DTE on August 22nd and go from there.
#Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
These tracts have a 83% BIPOC population, are in the 94th percentile on MIEJScreen, and 71% of households are below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. When we talk about #cumulative_impacts, this is what it looks like.
#Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
I literally purchased a power generator to avoid the harsh cold during power outages in the winter. My generator purchase cost me $1100. I am a single mother, with health conditions, and unaware of the electrical connections required to even hook my generator up. I believe it requires a specific generator cord that costs above $100 to service my home. My complaint isnt about the generator but about the very many frequent power outages that my residence is subjected to with the slightest wind or rain let alone major storms. Today, yet again a 5 minute rain storm and my residence is without power. DTE doesnt reimburse for outages u less they are greater than 24 hours. Though I am amongst the few 5 percent of resident in my area that is experiencing an outage and this happens all the time. I asked *** during the outages occurred last summer to investigate the cause for the frequent outages and they said they would. They placed a type of solar grid within 100 feet of my home and as you are being informed today their so called investigation did not resolve the matter. I have been subjected to at least 3-5 insurance claims for food spoilage due to the frequent power outages and yes my homeowners insurance has increased. I have been subjected to harsh cold and power outages that are illegal and wrong. Every month I pay my DTE bill on time, ahead of time, over and above the amount due as a long standing DTE customer and its not fair not at all which is why I am making this complaint k own to you today. There are people that I know and have brought to the attention of the police that fraudulently have illegally obtained power to their homes free of charge. I am a tax payer, I own my home, I dont owe DTE anything. Every month I pay nearly $350 for my monthly residential services and yet I am still subjected to being amongst the 5% of residence whose power goes out.
I am writing to formally file a complaint against DTE Energy due to their ongoing negligence and lack of proper response concerning a live wire hazard in my backyard. Despite being a loyal, bill-paying customer, I have been met with continuous disrespect, disregard, and confusion from *** representatives.For some years now, there has been a live wire down in my yard. Which happens when it storms.I have contacted DTE on multiple occasions, yet no action has been taken to resolve this dangerous situation. Instead of properly addressing the hazard, DTE has simply placed caution tape around the live wire a temporary and wholly inadequate solution that does not eliminate the risk. To myself or my ******* make matters worse, I am being told constantly by *** it is my responsibility to cut down a tree that is near this live wire, while simultaneously being warned not to go near it for safety reasons. This contradiction is both confusing and very irresponsible on **** part. How am I expected to resolve something I am being told is unsafe to approach?On Wednesday, I received a phone call from a *** representative. After calling, claiming that notes in their system indicated the wire in question is not live. This is simply false. The wire in my backyard consists of two lines wrapped together . Clearly a live electrical wire. A single cable wire looks entirely different, and I find it incredibly frustrating to have to defend this fact to trained professionals.This is not the first time Ive had to elevate this matter to corporate, and yet here I am still with a live wire in my backyard, still being dismissed by customer service, and still waiting for correction.I am requesting immediate intervention and resolution through the Better Business Bureau, as this has become a serious safety concern. I would appreciate a thorough investigation into this matter and for *** to be held accountable for their repeated failure to address a hazardous situation properly.
I had to pay for an HVAC technician to come out to my house and possibly fix my A/C unit. The technician then informs me that it wasnt the A/C unit but the meter it was connected to. Turns out DTE interrupted the service and NEVER reconnected the power. Not only that, they interrupted the service so they can replace/remove the old meter however they did not do either. There are still 2 meters left on my house. I then called DTE explained the emergency and they still told me I had to wait 3 days for an electrician to come out. I called back Sunday (2 days later) begging them to please escalate my case and get a tech out here same day as it reached 96 degrees and it was messing with my health and I was unable to sleep or do basic functions because of the heat. They assured me that they will send someone same day between the hours of 8am-4:30 pm. I wait all the way until 4 pm and no one showed up. I call again and they assured me that the tech should be here within the next 30 mins, reiterating that the tech has until 4:30 to show. I wait until 5:30 before calling again and checking on the status/ETA. They then informed me that the last 2 customer service **** I spoke with were wrong and those technicians dont work on Sundays so they would need to come the next business day (Monday). This was unacceptable as i explained to DTE that there is a heat advisory and for me to wait around in my house all day with no air conditioning just for no one to show up is messing with my health. They did not consider this to be an emergency which I am not understanding since it was them who messed up in the first place by the technician not properly doing their job and reconnecting the service to the meter!! They did not seem to care. I am now waiting another 8 hours in 95 degree weather where I feel very weak, sick and over heated, for a technician to arrive. I am forced to get in my shower and drench myself in cold water just to keep my body temperature down.
Hello my name is ******* ******** and I submitted documentation about a medical hold with a drs note stating my condition and reason for the necessity and WHY it would be detrimental to my health if they shut off my electrical. Dte REFUSES to accept a legal doctors letter containing all the necessary requirements by Michigan state law they still refuse to accept it saying life support isnt the same thing as heat stroke when theyre both valid medical emergencies. I need them to accept my doctors note or reduce the amount that they say I owe monthly Dte CAN forgive some of the balance they choose not to and I cant keep paying $266 a month for electricity. Im a single mom Dte already has me coded as ********** and *** wants $1,000 copay to make a payment. I dont know what else to do at this point. I need help.
No 7: DTE has #Terrible_Customer_Service
The Better Business Bureau website is riddled with reviews like these. Failure to deal with live wires, wrongful shutoffs, etc. Know of any other industries where this type of negligence is met with a huge raise?
#Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
We're not economists but maybe if you can't meet reliability standards, you shouldn't be raking in such high profits 🤔
#Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
Check out this great article from We Want Green Too which talks more about the discrepancies between residential and C&I rate increases: lnkd.in/eqEf7MCZ
#Unaffordability #Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
DTE has a suite of programs where customers can voluntarily give them even more money. ⚠️60-80% of the money customers spend goes straight to DTE profit ⚠️ 🌲 TreeGuard Assurance - if DTE doesn't trim your trees like they're supposed to, you can pay a premium to have them clean up after an outage ⚡ Surge Protection Plans - DTE offers a range of plans to protect your electronics and appliances from surges, costing customers between $5.99 and $22.99 per month - or buy a power strip... 💵 GreenBacks Cash - pay DTE $240 per year so it can give you $125 back on the off chance you need to replace your microwave 🛠️ Home Protection Plus - spend upwards of $80 / month for potential appliance repairs that may or may not be covered and have a cap on cost 🔥 Natural Gas Balance - pay extra to offset your natural gas usage so DTE doesn't have to get off gas to meet its climate commitments 🌞 MIGreenPower - pay extra to subsidize DTE's solar and wind, despite the fact that these forms of energy generation are rapidly becoming the cheapest in the world 🤑 MIGreenPower Community Impact - subsidize DTE's new solar parks in Detroit, Highland Park, and River Rouge so that DTE only has to foot 30% of the capital cost
No. 4: DTE's "Value-Added" get-rich-quick schemes
#Value_Add_Grift #Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
For more on dark money energy orgs and their ties to DTE, here are some great sources:
energyandpolicy.org/dte-dark-mon...
energyandpolicy.org/michigan-ene...
energyandpolicy.org/michigan-ene...
energyandpolicy.org/dte-energy-p...
#Utility_Money_Out_Of_Politics #Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
DTE's net profits:
2021: $907,000,000
2022: $1,083,000,000
2023: $1,397,000,000
2024: $1,404,000,000
2025: $1,780,000,000 (pace from Q1)
#DTE_Hall_Of_Shame #Numbers_Dont_Lie #Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case #11x11
Source: lnkd.in/eSmJ9Aac
Table of utilities with more than 70,000 shutoffs from January-October 2022. DTE Energy in Michigan is 3rd with 102,206 shutoffs in 2021 and 118,699 in 2022.
No.1: DTE Makes #Shutoffs_Hall_of_Shame
DTE came in at Number 3 on the Powerless in the US report from @EPI, Center for Biological Diversity, and BailoutWatch. See the report here: energyandpolicy.org/utility-disc...
#Reject_DTEs_Rate_Case, #11x11
