Tagged: DTE Energy

Those who want to opt out of DTE Energy’s smart meter program now face a fee.

According to MLive, the Michigan Public Service Commission “ruled that DTE can charge customers an initial fee of $67.20 and a monthly fee of $9.80 to opt out of the smart meters.”

Melissa Anders reports that:

Burning coal in a power plant creates byproducts called fly ash and bottom ash.  That ash contains a lot of bad stuff - mercury, lead, arsenic, to name a few.

While some plants ship the dry ash to landfills that accept hazardous materials, others mix the ash with water to make a slurry, which is moved into holding ponds.

Eventually, the water in those ponds is released into the nearest waterway.

In Michigan, we get more than half of our electricity from coal.  All of that coal is imported from other states.

In a couple weeks, you’ll get a chance to weigh in on how we’ll use energy in the future.

When Governor Rick Snyder gave his Special Message on Energy and the Environment last fall, he said he wanted to hold forums around the state to talk about energy.

DETROIT (AP) - Winds that gusted to 60 miles per hour have swept across Michigan, knocking down trees and power lines and cutting off electrical service to at least 195,000 homes and businesses.

Detroit-based DTE Energy Co. says 120,000 of its southeastern Michigan customers lost power in the overnight storm, and about 110,000 remain blacked out at midday Sunday.

Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp. says the storms knocked 75,,000 of its customers off line, and about23,000 were without service at midday Sunday across Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

A lawsuit over Smart Meters is creating a David and Goliath Situation with two Oakland County homeowners.  Smart Meters are relatively new technologies that use a wireless signal to transmit power use information to the utility.  

Michigan utilities sent hundreds of linemen to the East Coast last week to help restore electricity to areas hard hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Now Consumers Energy is sending two dozen workers to help restore natural gas service to parts of Long Island, New York.

Roger Morgenstern is a Consumers Energy spokesman.    He says restoring natural gas service presents a very different challenge than getting the lights back on after a storm.