WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Near record-breaking heat is cranking up the pressure on metro Detroit’s power grid, and it's left several neighborhoods without power.
Crews are working around the clock to restore electricity. But without power, residents are coping with no air conditioning and no fans as temperatures soar.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
The hum of a generator often signals an ongoing power outage. On Westbrook Avenue in Warren, that was the case from Tuesday to Wednesday afternoon.
Greg Maloian, who works from home, said he left his generator running for another hour and a half after the lights came back on just in case.
“Last night around 6:30, it went out, came back on around five minutes later. It was on for about 10 minutes then went out for about five minutes then came back on. Was on for about five minutes then just went back out," he explained to 7 News Detroit.
Power for residents in the neighborhood did come back on Wednesday afternoon. But before it did, Jim Pelak decided to change scenery just to keep cool.
“It was kind of difficult sleeping but got through that. To be honest with you, I got up and went over to a restaurant. I had some breakfast," he said.
Residents said these outages aren't just exclusive to hundred-degree days. They complain it's a chronic problem.
“This happens frequently in this neighborhood. We get frequent power outages,” Pelak said.
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His neighbor, Kathy Pietryka, said “just the past year, it’s probably been out three, four times.”
To make matters worse, Pietryka’s generator is broken. That's left her with few options during this intense stretch of heat.
“I’ve just been sweating it out," she said.
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DTE Energy said the current outages are tied to the hotter temperatures. High demand for air conditioning can strain the grid, leading to equipment failures.
Jerry Tullio, DTE'S director of regional customer operations, said critical upgrades are ongoing. However, restoring power requires treating individual repairs case-by-case.
“Over the last few months, we’ve identified the hot spots that need a little bit of work to be ready for this heat and different types of weather events and we’ve been investing the time and money into those areas to prepare the grid for an event like this," he explained.
The energy company also said, "DTE has not taken any intentional brownouts, and we do not anticipate taking any at this time."
The company is saying it isn't purposely dimming the lights or cutting power in order to manage the demand on the grid.
