DETROIT (WXYZ) — DTE is continuing to install smart devices to increase the reliability of its electric grid.
For Detroiters who live near Gleason and Greyfriar Street, over time, they've seen their fair share of power outages.
"Every summertime when storms come through," said Jerry Blake, a Detroit resident.
"When I was a kid, power outages were pretty common, honestly, but recently I would say not as much," said Justen Smiechowski, a Detroit resident.
Tuesday, DTE crews were hard at work in that neighborhood, as the company makes its transition to a smart grid.
"DTE is committed to reduce outages by 30 percent and cut outage minutes in half by 2029," said Shannen Hartwick, Director of Distribution Operations at DTE.
DTE installed its latest recloser in the area. A recloser is a smart device that can detect and de-energize downed wires, isolate outages, and re-route power to keep people's lights on while crews make repairs, and enhance restoration times.
"These devices can pinpoint the exact location of damage during an outage, so we can send our field crews directly there and speed up restoration efforts," Hartwick said.
INTERVIEW: DTE official details how these recloser devices work
The devices can be remotely operated from DTE's control center. So far, about 600 have been installed across their service area, and more are coming online.
"In this year alone, we're going to more than double that number by installing another 600," Hartwick said.
Each recloser can benefit a few hundred to more than a thousand customers on a circuit, and DTE has already seen how they're beneficial.
"Just last year alone, these devices helped us avoid 10,000 customer outages and 4 million minutes of power interruptions," Hartwick said. "Just last week, we had an outage in Detroit where about 500 customers went out of power. These devices were able to operate and reroute power, so we were able to get half of the customers back on within minutes."
Residents say anything that makes power more reliable, they're for it.
"I'm actually really happy that they're finally getting on it. Finding ways to make energy more efficient, make it where we can actually keep our power on," Smiechowski said.
"I'm glad they're making improvements because you can save lives like that," Blake said.
