The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) today directed the MPSC staff to conduct an investigation into the ability of The Detroit Edison Company and Consumers Energy Company to respond to recent electric outages caused by severe storms.  It will hold public hearings in four Michigan cities to provide affected customers a forum to voice their concerns regarding their utility's response to the downed lines and power outages.

A series of thunderstorms crossed Michigan's Lower Peninsula from June 6 to June 15, causing an estimated 720,000 customers of Detroit Edison and Consumers Energy to lose electric power to their homes and businesses for varying lengths of time.  Among other things, reports indicate that many Detroit Edison customers were unable to notify the utility of outages and downed power lines via its toll-free telephone number.  

"The Michigan Public Service Commission has an obligation to ensure that utilities are providing customers with reasonably reliable service, to protect the public from hazardous downed power lines, and to promptly respond and restore power to customers suffering from outages," said MPSC Chairman Orjiakor Isiogu.  "Reports of telecommunications breakdowns and prolonged power outages raise serious concerns that must be fully investigated."

The MPSC staff will conduct an investigation over the next 60 days to discover what happened to the utilities' distribution systems and why; how the utilities responded; whether any changes should be implemented to reduce the potential future power outages of the magnitude recently witnessed; whether there is evidence of a failure on the part of either utility to properly maintain its distribution system that could have contributed to the outages experienced during these storms; whether the utilities were properly prepared to receive and respond to customer calls to report outages; and whether the utilities sufficiently addressed all public safety concerns associated with downed power lines in a timely manner.  After their investigation, the MPSC staff will file a report with the Commission by Aug. 22.  The two utilities will file responses to the report with the Commission by Sept. 22.  At the conclusion of the process, the MPSC may propose remedial action, as appropriate.

Details on the four public hearings, attended by representatives of the MPSC and the affected utility company, follow:

Lansing

10 a.m. to 12 noon

Monday, June 23

Hearing Room A

MPSC Office, 6545 Mercantile Way, Lansing, MI  48911

Grand Rapids

1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Wednesday, June 25

9^th Floor, Commission Chambers,

Grand Rapids City Hall Building

300 Monroe Ave. NW

Grand Rapids, MI  49503-2206

Clinton Township

10 a.m. to 12 noon

Monday, June 30

Auditorium

Clinton-Macomb Public Library

40900 Romeo Plank Rd.

Clinton Township, MI  48038

Pontiac

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday, June 30

Board of Commissioners' Auditorium

Oakland Co. Courthouse

1200 N. Telegraph Rd.

Pontiac, MI 48341

Comments may be e-mailed to mpscedockets@michigan.gov and documents in Word or PDF format may be attached to the e-mail message.  Written comments should be mailed to the Executive Secretary, Michigan Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 30221, Lansing, MI 48909.  All comments should reference Case No. U-15605 and must be received by 5 p.m. on July 15.  All information submitted to the Commission in this matter will become public information, available on the Commission's Web site, and subject to disclosure.

The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Labor & Economic Growth.

Case No. U-15605