DTE Energy Facing Oversight of “Hardship-Inducing” Debt Collection Practices
The large utility must turn over details of its sales of customer debt, which previously were kept in the dark, but has fought off a ban on the practice.
Local Reporting Network
Michigan’s Largest Utility Wants a Rate Hike as It Disconnects a High Number of Customers for Nonpayment
DTE Energy has cut off power to customers more times in 2022 than in any nine-month period since the state began tracking shut-offs.
Local Reporting Network
She Didn’t Know She Still Owed Money to Her Utility. Then 25% of Her Paycheck Was Gone.
After the state’s largest utility sold consumer debt, thousands of Detroiters faced default judgments and garnished wages. The utility only reaped pennies on the dollar.
Local Reporting Network
Detroit City Council Calls on Michigan’s Largest Utility to Pause Shut-offs, Explain Its High Electricity Rates
The council resolution follows revelations by Outlier Media and ProPublica on the high number of DTE customers whose accounts were disconnected during the pandemic.
Local Reporting Network
Profitable Utility Company Shut Off Electricity to Homes Thousands of Times
Three months into the pandemic, Michigan’s largest power company began ramping up power shut-offs for customers behind on their bills.
Local Reporting Network
Are You Having Trouble Paying Electric Bills in Detroit? Please Share Your Story.
An energy provider based in Detroit shut off 80,606 electric accounts last year, even during the hottest and coldest months of the pandemic. Without electricity, people suffer. If you’re a customer of a Detroit-area electric provider, we want to hear from you.