DTE Energy places health and safety of employees, customers and communities first and suspends non-critical and maintenance w...
March 23 2020 - 07:54AM
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) today announced, effective immediately, it
is safely winding down and voluntarily suspending for the time
being all non-critical infrastructure and maintenance work as an
additional measure to prioritize the health of its employees,
customers and communities during the coronavirus outbreak. This
move to keep employees home — in instances other than emergency
response to customers — helps to ensure they do not add to the
growing spread of the virus and further stress the health care
system, equipment and services across the state.
"Today's decision to voluntarily suspend non-critical
infrastructure and maintenance work will go a long way to support
the health and safety of employees. DTE will continue to reliably
deliver the electric and gas service our customers need as this
pandemic runs its course," said Jerry Norcia, DTE president and
CEO. “We will protect our employees who need to leave their homes
to service our customers by ensuring they follow safe practices and
utilize protective equipment. DTE is doing its part to mitigate
further spread of COVID-19, which will help to protect our
customers, communities and highly dedicated health care
professionals.”
The suspension of work will go unnoticed by most customers.
Non-critical work including main renewal, infrastructure
construction and home energy consultations will be safely idled and
suspended. The company will monitor the developing situation,
adjusting daily and weekly, while it continues to staff core
operations. Teams will be ready to respond to any emergency event
that might occur.
DTE employees will continue to provide power outage restoration,
gas leak and downed powerline response to ensure public safety and
mitigate power interruptions. Overhead line work and tree trimming
operations are other critical services, and vendors in these fields
will determine how they may safely remain on the job to help ensure
vital work continues.
Customer service specialists will work remotely from home as DTE
will continue to respond to customer calls. Also, the company’s
5,000 employees who have been working from home for two weeks will
continue to staff their functions remotely.
DTE is taking additional health and safety precautions to
protect those who continue to serve on the frontlines during this
outbreak. Special health screening procedures to prevent virus
transmission have been put in place in all control rooms and while
FERMI II goes through its planned downtime and maintenance
work.
“Addressing the economic and societal impact of COVID-19
will be important in the coming weeks and months. So as DTE ensures
reliable delivery of energy, the DTE Energy Foundation has
increased support for non-profit organizations in communities
across the state to help those in need, especially those
individuals who need food and shelter. We live and work in
the communities we serve and we care about them deeply,” said
Norcia.
DTE is also on high alert to help those customers whose lives
are being disrupted. As a result, the company is suspending
shutoffs for non-payment for customers who are low income eligible
through April 5, 2020. This timing could be extended depending on
the impact that the virus has on Michigan communities. Those
customers enrolled in the Senior Winter Protection Program have had
their end dates automatically extended through May 3, 2020 without
additional actions required on their part.
Customers who are impacted by COVID-19 — those with a sudden
loss of income or medical condition — as well as our vulnerable
senior citizens, are encouraged to contact DTE at 1.800.477.4747 to
determine eligibility for our payment assistance
programs.
“We want every one of our customers to have energy, and to be
warm and safe,” said Norcia.
For more information about DTE’s response to COVID-19 and energy
savings tips while working at home go to:
https://newlook.dteenergy.com/wps/wcm/connect/dte-web/quicklinks/footer/covid19-response
About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified
energy company involved in the development and management of
energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating
units include an electric company serving 2.2 million customers
in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving
1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes
energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects;
renewable natural gas; natural gas pipelines, gathering and
storage; and energy marketing and trading. As an environmental
leader, DTE utility operations will reduce carbon dioxide and
methane emissions by more than 80 percent by 2040 to
produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe, reliable
and affordable. DTE Electric aspires to achieve net zero carbon by
2050. DTE is committed to serving with its energy through
volunteerism, education and employment
initiatives, philanthropy and economic progress.
Information about DTE is available
at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.
Micah Ragland
DTE Energy
313.235.5555
Pete Ternes
DTE Energy
313.235.5555
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