8/14/13 - Itâs been ten years today since a power blackout cascaded across eight states and local utilities say there have been a lot of changes, improvements and better preparation to ensure it wonât happen again. DTE Energy says things have changed quite a bit over the last decade and overall, demand has been dropping with increased energy efficiency efforts. DTE Vice President and Chief Engineer of Distribution Vince Dow says ITC is the transmission company in the area and has improved a lot of assets while theyâve started to implement smart grids for the distribution. It was a tree touching a high-voltage power line in Ohio that sparked the blackout in 2003. While the ramp up of security around the electrical system, the training and investment into the electrical systems have all increased, Dow tells WHMI trees remain their biggest problem and theyâre coming through on a five year cycle and trimming service areas. However, he says if homeowners would trim around the wire to their home or remove dead trees from their property; especially dead Ash trees, it would be the biggest improvement in reliability. Livingston County went mostly unscathed on this day in 2003 but there were more than 2.1 million customers affected across southeast Michigan and in Detroit (pictured). That sent many motorists and others left in the dark into Livingston County for fuel, hotel rooms and other basic conveniences until power was finally restored. AP Photo: Paul Sancya(JM)
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