9/19/14 - The Brighton City Council Thursday night heard a representative of DTE discuss the wave of recent power outages and why they occur. Regional Relations Manager Paul Ganz was invited to explain why there has been a big increase in power outages in the city, and whether there is a connection between outages and scheduled maintenance. Ganz told council the reasons for the outages are many, including an increase in the number of strong storms, tree limbs that are too near power lines, and older equipment that is nearing the end of its useful life. However, Ganz maintained that just because a piece of equipment was old doesnât mean it will automatically be replaced, as long as it is still functioning. He says if DTE replaced every piece of equipment that was old merely because it was old, the expense would result in a rate increase, which would arouse the ire of customers. Foster says Ganz assured council that he will update the city periodically with information on scheduled maintenance dates, times, and locations for work such as tree trimming. Foster says the city, in turn, will post the information on the cityâs website. (TT)
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