DTE Energy improves electric reliability by 21% in 2022

DTE Energy's investment of more than $1 billion in its electric grid last year helped improve reliability for Wayne County residents by 58% in areas where DTE focused its work. Within the City of Detroit, that focused work contributed to a 68% improvement in reliability for DTE customers.

Much of the increase in reliability can be attributed to DTE’s work -- trimming more than 1,200 miles of trees and inspecting and upgrading nearly 600 miles of infrastructure in the County last year alone.

Wayne County customers were not the only ones that saw an increase in power reliability. Improvements were reported across DTE’s electric service territory with customers experiencing 21% fewer power interruptions in 2022 and a nearly 40% decrease in the average outage duration time.

“We’re pleased to report that we continue to make solid strides in improving reliability for our customers,” said Matt Paul, executive vice president, Distribution Operations, DTE Energy. “2022 was a record year for investment in our grid and the result was stronger reliability for our customers. In addition, with fewer severe weather events in 2022, our field crews were able to focus more consistently on grid resilience. It’s clear that as we invest in the grid, our customers benefit with improved performance and more reliable power.

“We have more work to do, which is why we’re continuing to invest more than ever in these vital infrastructure upgrades in order to build the grid of the future,” Paul said. “We are committed to working tirelessly to ensure that the power our customers need is as reliable and affordable as possible.”

Learn more about DTE electric reliability improvement work happening in Wayne County and the city of Detroit at empoweringmichigan.com/reliability-improvements.

Nationwide, 2.2M additional skilled-trade hires are needed now through 2024 to keep up with labor demand and combat the weakened housing supply, according to the Home Builders Institute. This training program will work to narrow the gap in job demand and provide opportunities to Detroiters who are interested in the energy efficiency industry but are unaware of how to jumpstart their careers. By focusing on education and upskilling, this training program will provide participants with the resources needed to achieve home repair satisfaction while implementing cost-saving measures and reducing energy use.

The Energy Efficiency Academy is the newest in a number of workforce development training programs to attract new talent in the clean energy industry. Our other notable training programs include the Detroit-based Tree-Trimming Academy and Parnell Prison Tree-Trim training, Power and Trades Pathways Program with Henry Ford College, and our Detroit Summer Youth Internship Program.

The Energy Efficiency Academy will kick off its 2023 program year this Spring, hosted at the Walker-Miller Energy Services headquarters in Detroit’s New Center area. For more information about the Energy Efficiency Academy, email Walker-Miller Energy Services at workforce@wmenergy.com. To learn more about DTE’s energy-saving programs, visit www.dte-energy.com/saveenergy.

Winter is Supposed to Mean Business: Lack of Snow Impacts Black-Owned Snow Removal Companies

By Andre Ash

So far, it’s been a relatively mild start to the winter season across metro-Detroit. The average amount of snow for Southeast Michigan tends to hover around 40-45 inches, according to the Midwest Regional Climate Center. Since December we’ve only seen around 17 inches of the white stuff.

While there are many more days left for winter on the calendar, we are off to a slow start to winter. Remember temperatures were in the 70s in the early days of November last year? Most of the ground has remained dry and the air unseasonably warm.

While some people take great pleasure in the abnormal mild conditions, oftentimes, it’s an after-thought for many people about how a less than aver- age snowfall can impact businesses and industry.

“It’s impacting us,” said Jerome Powell, owner of Powell & Son LLC, a snow removal company in Detroit. “When you have a crew not working and not getting paid, it becomes very hard to depend on the winter season.”

There’s the reality of winter weather starting later in the season and picking up more after the beginning of the new year. This was the case in the past two years where Southeast Michigan picked up over 20 inches of snow in just the month of February alone in 2021 and 2020.

Despite the snowfall nearing its normal rate in the past years, there is no question Powell has seen a change.

“When you go out and buy a lot of salt products that you have to hold on to until the following year, it can be challenging.”

Powell’s year-round landscaping and snow removal company has been operating in Detroit for 28 years. He employs 16 people and said the abnormal start to the winter season has saved him money on gas for his vehicles but hasn’t gained much on revenue.

“It has a dramatic effect on us,” he said. “Every year was a good year for us, until about 5 years ago, [when] we saw a change.”

Most of the clients he serves are commercial businesses who pay upfront annually while a percentage of other customers are serviced on an as-needed basis, depending on weather conditions. That’s about 60 percent of his business

Suicide and its Stigma Should be Classified as a Pandemic

By Sherri Kolade

The unthinkable happened weeks before the pandemic broke in early March 2020 for La Toya Bond who learned of the murder-suicide of her stepmother and father.

“There were parts of him that were known to only him like the struggles and the depression and the secret battles,” the St. Clair Shores resident said of her father, Herman McKalpain, 66, who ended his life after taking the life of his wife, Elizabeth McKalpain, 67, in their home in Sterling Heights. “By all appearances, he seemed happy.…We were all shocked when this happened. Nobody saw this coming.”

Bond, a suicide awareness advocate (and host of a podcast show in honor of her late father), told the Michigan Chronicle that she has learned so much about the topic of suicide and she participates in a suicide loss survivors’ support group through the non-profit organization, Kevin’s Song.

Bond’s father, a former sports radio show host on WGPR in Detroit, lives on in a sense through her podcast, “Speaking of Love.”

“I always say that my podcast is my therapy...and I do this because this was something that he loved.... So having this podcast, in essence, it’s like I’m walking in his gift.…There’s a lot of stigma behind suicide and my purpose is to erase that stigma.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 10th leading cause of death in the United States in 2019 was suicide, claiming more than 47,500 people. Also, there were about two and a half times as many suicides in the United States as there were homicides (19,141) that year.

The CDC added that suicide was the “second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44.”

E’yandra Otis, a Detroit resident, nearly committed suicide in 2016 after experiencing emotional turmoil and the loss of numerous family members and friends.

“I spent so much time in the funeral home I felt that I worked there,” Otis told the Michigan Chronicle previously about cousins and friends of his who tragically died. “It was a lot -- a long year.”

Around the world, more than 700,000 people die by suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds, according to the World Health Organization, which reports that for each adult who passed away from suicide, there might have been over 20 others attempting suicide.

While mental health is becoming more widely discussed in the Black community, discussions about suicide remain taboo.

Every year, however, over 700,000 people commit suicide. In 2019, African American populations experienced a 7 percent suicide rate, while risk factors for suicide remain consistent across race and gender.

For Otis, having conversations and seeking mental help helped him out of his downward spiral of emotions also stemming from family troubles, financial hardships and more.

Otis, who almost ended things with some alcohol and pills, said he finally came to that life-changing day five years ago and is glad he did.

“I used to be a person that holds a lot of things in,” he said. “Now if I’m getting to a point where I feel like I need to talk to or call somebody I don’t have a problem asking for help.”

Dr. L.A. Barlow, a clinical psychologist with the Detroit Medical Center, told the Michigan Chronicle that with the pandemic and its variants still ongoing (and social isolation still a thing), continuing to work on your mental health is not something to look down upon, especially in the Black community.

“Culturally a lot of times in our community we were raised to say, ‘Family business stays in the household,’” she said, adding that these things need to be talked about. “Mental healthcare and mental well-being [don’t] discriminate no matter race. Why should we not get the help?”

Dr. Carmen McIntyre, chief medical officer at the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority, is a big proponent of addressing mental health and has previously discussed with the Michigan Chronicle what are the warning signs for suicide.

“Some risks that increase the likelihood of suicide include major depressive episode; substance use or abuse, such as alcohol or cocaine; divorce or widowhood; recent loss [such as losing a job, or a loved one]; physical illness and chronic pain,” she said, adding that it is important to look for signs of depression as this has the “greatest correlation” with suicide attempts.

“Depression doesn’t look the same for everyone, but some hints are feeling sad, or being agitated and angry [especially in children and adolescents]; changes in sleep and appetite; loss of interest in activities that were previously enjoyed such as spending time with friends or playing sports; difficulty with concentration or memory; feelings of guilt or worthlessness; and fatigue or decreased energy,” she said.

Warning signs of suicide include:

• Talking about death, wanting to die, or wanting to kill oneself.

• Talking about feeling helpless, hopeless, having no reason to live, or being a burden on others.

• Increasingly reckless behavior, including the use of alcohol or drugs.

• Becoming more withdrawn or feeling isolated.

• Feeling enraged or talking about getting revenge.

• Loss of interest in the things one cares about.

• Making arrangements or setting one’s affairs in order, including giving away one’s possessions, or saying goodbye to people.

• Finally, suddenly seeming happier or calmer. This is because the person has made the choice to die and has a sense of relief that their suffering will soon end.

Bond said that individuals who feel suicidal should reach out for help and not be afraid.

“And just know that you are loved and you are here on this earth for a divine purpose,” Bond said, adding that everyone was born with a gift, talent or something that they could offer to the world. “So, for my dad, for example, his gift to the world was his heart. He had a big heart. And he was a great dynamic public speaker.…The next person may be like Patti LaBelle.… It doesn’t matter how small or how big…we have our own unique gifts that we bring to the world.” coming from seasonal contracts and 40 percent per plow.

If someone needs immediate help, call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Powell said his company tends to make more money on applying salt instead of just snow plowing alone. This is a result of temperatures changes and melting and refreezing conditions which create the need for salt application on the ground throughout the season, even when there is no major snowstorm forecasted.

“You make money when you salt, not a lot of money, but you make a reasonable amount.”

There is a lot of hard work that goes in to this business, something Powell knows all too well. Powell is over the age of 60, a retired Ford Motor Company worker who was inspired to jump into the landscaping business because of his grandmother. She landscaped as well.

“I had a passion for dirt,” he said. “I started off cutting lawns and then concrete work which we do mainly in the summer.”

“Being in Michigan, it’s hard to predict December to April what the weather will bring. You just have to be ready to piggy back off of spring clean-ups and other seasonal work. If we only did snow removal, that five months would kill us.”

It’s a balancing act on how businesses like Powell do their best to stay afloat during the winter season while pulling in revenue from sources during other seasons of work in the year.

“When you have seasons like this, it can impact your bottom line dramatically sometimes,” said Kevin Williams, owner of Kevin’s All Season Lawn & Landscaping LLC, in Detroit. “We rely on this snow business, but we learned early on that you have to balance out your portfolio.”

Williams has been in business for 27 years and with over 20 employees, he mostly services schools, auto plants and corporate companies who pay a flat fee “regardless” of winter weather conditions, a similar business model to Powell as it relates to seasonal contracts.

“Seven-plus years ago, it was almost hard to keep up,” William said. “Those were the good old days. Every week there were storms keeping us busy.”

There is no doubt both Black-owned snow removal businesses have seen a change in Michigan’s winter season. Will snowfall and more winter-like conditions improve? It remains to be seen.