EASTPOINTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — While about 20,000 people in our state are still dealing with power outages and the aftermath of flooding issues, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is making it a priority to tackle these issues, not only declaring a state of emergency in Wayne and Monroe counties but also holding energy companies accountable with the much-needed fixes to come.
While Whitmer was visiting Forest Park Elementary School in Eastpointe on the first day of school, she was quick to recognize all schools were not so lucky. Many are still without power, and the governor understands the pain firsthand.
“I can tell you at the Governor’s residence, we were without power the last few days and still are. I’m not complaining. I’m feeling the exact same frustration that I think others are and that’s why we’re going to continue to push to upgrade our grids, to rebuild our infrastructure, and to do our part to mitigate our impact on this climate change that is making us all feel the pain,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
We were the only television crew to sit down exclusively with Governor Whitmer today to talk about the effects of the back-to-back storms that brought torrential rainfall, widespread power issues, and devastating flooding.
“I have talked with the leadership at our utilities. I know there is unprecedented investment happening to get lines under the ground as opposed to in the air with all these events,” said Whitmer.
The governor says considering Michigan's infrastructure has not been updated in more than a hundred years combined with global warming and other climate issues we need improvements.
At last check, DTE had more than 20,000 people still without power. That's down from 250,000 on Friday.
The governor says it may indeed take decades to fix the issues with our 100-plus year-old infrastructure and while she does not have an exact timeline from DTE or Consumers, she says the planning is underway.
Related:
