Southeast Michigan power outages: Nearly 43K DTE customers still in the dark

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Crews have been working for days to get the lights back on after powerful storms Tuesday knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Michigan.

As of 6 p.m. almost 43,000 DTE customers are still without power, while Consumers Energy is reporting that 17,000 of its customers do not have power. DTE expects to have 90 percent of those without power restored by Thursday night.

These outages come after severe thunderstorms that knocked down power lines and poles. 

The utility companies have hundreds of crews in the field, including DTE lineman teams from out of state, as they restore power. At one point after the storm, more than 300,000 customers were in the dark.

"We have an unprecedented number of line workers in the field making repairs -- thousands of DTE employees as well as 1,500 line workers from as far away as New York, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee," said Brian Calka, vice president, Distribution Operations. "We’ve brought in more crews than ever before to support restoration because we know how important it is to safely and quickly bring the lights back on for our customers."

DTE said it hopes to have power restored to 90% of the customers who lost power by the end of Thursday.

Check the DTE outage map and report an outage here.

What to do if you see a downed wire:

If there is an emergency, such as a fire or you see a power line on an unoccupied car, first call 911 then call the power company. DTE Energy can be reached at 800-477-4747. Consumers Energy can be reached at 800-477-5050.

For non-emergency situations, you can report the wire to DTE online here.

Stay at least 20 feet from the wires. Do not touch the power lines or use an object to touch them. Do not drive over downed wires. Also, avoid touching anything the wire touches, such as a fence or a puddle.

Be sure to keep pets and children away from the lines, too.

If you are inside your vehicle and a wire falls on it, DTE says to stay inside and call 911. 

However, if you must get out of the vehicle, DTE advises removing loose clothing, and getting out without touching the frame. Jump with your feet together to avoid touching the vehicle and ground at the same time. Do not remove your feet until you are at least 20 feet away from the vehicle.