Waterford residents suffer power outage for days

WATERFORD TWP., MI (FOX 2) - Power was restored Friday night in Waterford, but businesses lost money and so many who live in the area, lost patience.

"I am literally getting sick to the point to where I will probably have to go to ER and I'm praying that they don’t admit me," said Sharon Jones. "Because on another spectrum, I can’t afford to be in the hospital."

That’s how dire the power outage situation in the Waterford area has been for Jones.

"I’m depending on my electricity for my medical. I have cried. I’m hot. My body temperature, I don’t have my medicine," she said. "Then when I call DTE the results I get from them is like I am scum of the earth. I need help, I’m reaching out for help and that’s exactly what I need."

She shared a picture of the freezer items she says she had to toss out.

"When I call the 800 number they say we will give you $35 - that’s an insult," she said. "That’s a total insult to my intelligence. Thirty-five dollars are you kidding me? I (had) to empty the freezer right now and throw away hundreds of dollars worth of food, all of my condiments.

"Everything’s gone. I put a bag of ice in the freezer last night, guess what - it’s a puddle of water."

Waterford and some surrounding areas went dark a few days ago, according to many residents who have been doing whatever they can to beat a heatwave that happened shortly after Memorial Day.

The lights were knocked out at many fast-food shops and other businesses too, prompting them to close.

"DTE promised to have it on at 11 that night. Didn’t happen. The next was Thursday at noon then again at 6. Now today at noon. When I called at noon they said today at 6 but they can’t promise because the problem’s underground. I mean come on you guys?"

"It like just came out of nowhere," said Juan Carlos Rivas. "And it was like the whole area. Everything was down. Everybody came out of their houses."

Related: Ann Arbor residents say power surge after outage 'fried' their appliances

"People got kids like, I got kids myself and (it was) hot and stuff like that. So it was all just like an inconvenience."

DTE told Fox 2 just after 8pm Friday night that the lights are back on in Waterford.

A spokesperson for the utility says crews were updating the primary cable underground when the backup failed…prompting the need for a workaround.

DTE also said it had to work to bring in a portable substation and generators to get power restored as the situation slowly returns to normal.