Damages & Reliability Credits

DTE Energy is ready to help you with your electrical power problems and damage claims. For more information on how to maintain your affordable and reliable electricity, visit our Voltage Concerns page.

DTE Energy has implemented the revised Service Quality and Reliability Standards as ordered by the Michigan Public Service Commission on March 24, 2023.

These standards provide customers a $35 credit if our investigation determines you have experienced the following:

Extended outage:

• A power outage* of more than 16 hours due to an event that results in an interruption affecting 1% or less of DTE's electric customers.
• A power outage* of more than 48 hours due to an event that results in an interruption affecting greater than 1% but less than 10% of DTE’s electric customers.
• A power outage* of more than 96 hours under catastrophic conditions. Catastrophic conditions are defined as an event that results in an official state of emergency or an event that results in an interruption of 10% or more of DTE’s electric customers.

Once your outage qualifies for a credit, you will receive an additional $35 a day for every day the outage continues.

*A power outage consists of full or partial loss of service for longer than five minutes.

Frequent Outage:

• Six power outages* during a 12-month period. Once a credit has been applied, the count of outages resets to zero.

*A power outage consists of full or partial loss of service for longer than five minutes.

Your bill credit eligibility status will be determined automatically, and you will not need to submit a request.

If eligible, a credit will be posted to your account within 1-2 billing cycles or up to 90 days following your outage. For paper bills, refer to the first page of the bill under the "Summary of Charges" section, or for electronic bills refer to the "Bill Summary" section.

DTE is committed to providing exceptional service to our customer and treating your home or business like our own. There are times, however, when damages occur. 

We understand how difficult these situations can be, but DTE is not responsible for the following and your claim will not be approved by DTE for any of the below circumstances:

• You are not the customer of record or the owner of the damaged property.
• Damages or losses resulting from storms or weather-related conditions.
  • Loss or damages including hotel/lodging, food loss, damaged appliances due to voltage surges, loss of wages/revenue or tree trim debris removal expenses.
• Damages or losses due to equipment failure beyond our reasonable control.
• Damages or losses caused by a third party or animal interference.

We recommend that you contact your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance company to determine if these losses are covered under your policy.

How to file a damage claim

If you believe DTE caused damage to your property, please complete and submit the enclosed damage claim form. DTE will consider each claim that is submitted. 

You will need to provide documentation such as invoices, receipts and photos to support your damage claim.

An acknowledgment letter will be sent upon receipt of your damage claim submission. 

We will conduct an investigation and a decision will be rendered within 30 days if your claim was submitted online. Each claim is investigated and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

If DTE determines that we are not legally responsible for your damages, your claim will be denied. Submittal of a claim is not a guarantee of payment.  For further information, see our frequently asked questions document.