State Representative Helena Scott Announces Committee Hearing in Response to Massive Power Outages

DETROIT, March 7, 2023 - Following severe storm systems that wreaked havoc through Michigan over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Michigan households and businesses lost power. Detroit area utilities DTE and Consumers Energy are among those under criticism over the power outages that occurred at the end of February and start of March. With increases in extreme weather events, many have called on leadership at the service providers to be better prepared to respond quickly. State Rep. Helena Scott (D-Detroit) has announced that the Energy, Communications, and Technology Committee - which she chairs - will hold a committee hearing to hear testimony from power company leaders and from Dan Scripps, chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission.

"As state representative, chair of the Energy Committee and vice chair of the Detroit caucus, I promised I would make sure there was a committee hearing to address who and what institutions are accountable and how we can avoid these large-scale power outages in the future," Scott said. "I've kept true to that promise and acted quickly - on March 15, we will be hearing testimony from utility and state officials to figure out what needs to be done. We cannot and will not simply accept that this is our new normal. The power grid and associated infrastructure must be reinforced, updated and improved so that residents are safe, warm and receive the services they pay for."