DTE Energy
Encyclopedia
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
-based utility incorporated in 1995 involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide.
DTE Energy's largest operating subsidiaries are Detroit Edison
Detroit Edison
The Detroit Edison Company, founded in 1903, is an investor-owned electric utility which serves most of Southeast Michigan. Its parent company, DTE Energy , provides energy services to a variety of clients beyond Detroit Edison's service area.- History :...
, an investor-owned electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, and Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. (MichCon), a natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan.
The name "DTE" is taken from the stock symbol for Detroit Edison, DTE. http://www.dteenergy.com/news/utilityHistory/1974.html
Biomass
In May 2008, DTE Biomass Energy agreed to buy the 50-MW E. J. Stoneman Generating StationE. J. Stoneman Generating Station
E. J. Stoneman Generating Station is a coal fired, electrical power station located in Cassville, Wisconsin in Grant County.Purchased by WPS Resources in 1996 from Dairyland Power Cooperative, there have been a few attempts to repower the facility, but the site is located next to the Cassville...
in Cassville, Wisconsin
Cassville, Wisconsin
Cassville is a village in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,085 at the 2000 census. The village is located along the Mississippi River within the Town of Cassville.-History:...
, with plans to convert it to burn wood waste in 2009.
PHEV and V2G
The Michigan Public Service CommissionMichigan Public Service Commission
The Michigan Public Service Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Michigan. There are currently three members of the commission....
(MPSC), an agency within the state’s Department of Labor & Economic Growth, has awarded a partnership of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, GM
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, and DTE Energy Company $5 million to study plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as a Michigan economic development catalyst, the near-term vehicle-utility interface, the mid/long-term vehicle utility interface, and the environmental and electric utility system impacts of PHEVs. The grants
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
are part of the Low-Income and Energy Efficiency Fund, which provides energy bill assistance for low-income customers and promotes the efficient use of energy by all customer classes.
Compensation
In May 2007, Forbes listed the then DTE Energy CEO Anthony F. Earley Jr. as receiving $4.84 million in total compensation for the latest fiscal year, with a four-year total compensation of $18.31 million. He ranked 19th on the list of CEOs in the Utilities industry, and 290th among all CEOs in the United States.Power portfolio
Out of its total 13,041 MW of electric generating capacity in 2005 (1.22% of the U.S. total), DTE Energy produces 61.3% from coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, 16.4% from natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, 11.7% from oil, 9.3% from nuclear, and 0.2% from biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
. DTE Energy owns power plants in Alabama, California, Illinois, and Michigan; 95.5% of the company's generating capacity comes from power plants in Michigan.
Congressional campaign contributions
DTE Energy contributed a total of $317,499 to the 110th US Congress (as of the third quarter), the largest of which has been to Senator Carl LevinCarl Levin
Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
(D-MI) for $21,500.
Existing coal-fired power plants
| Plant Name | County | Year(s) Built | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe Monroe Power Plant The Monroe Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant located in Monroe, Michigan on the western shore of Lake Erie. It is owned by the Detroit Edison Company, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. The plant was constructed in the early 1970s and was completed in 1974. The plant has 4 generating units, each... |
Monroe | 1971–1974 | 3300 MW |
| St. Clair | St. Clair | 1953–1954, 1961–1969 | 1928 MW |
| Belle River Belle River Power Plant Belle River Power Plant is a major coal- and natural gas-fired power plant owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It is located in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the peninsula formed by the St. Clair and Belle rivers. The plant was built across M-29 from the St. Clair Power Plant in... |
St. Clair | 1984–1985 | 1664 MW |
| Trenton Channel Trenton Channel Power Plant The Trenton Channel Power Plant, also known as the Trenton Stacks, is a coal-burning power station located in Trenton, Michigan. Completed in 1949, it is owned and operated by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy.... |
Wayne | 1949–1950, 1968 | 776 MW |
| River Rouge | Wayne | 1957–1958 | 651 MW |
| Marysville | St Clair | 1943–1947 | 150 MW |
| Harbor Beach | Huron | 1968 | 121 MW |
In 2006, DTE Energy's 7 major coal-fired power plants emitted 43.3 million tons of CO2 (0.7% of all U.S. emissions) and 214,000 tons of (1.4% of all U.S. emissions).
Credit Reporting Program
In August 2006, DTE Energy began reporting payment information to the major credit bureaus on all of its 2.5 million customers without offering the ability to opt-out, making it one of the few utilities in the US to do so. Previously, only seriously delinquent accounts were reported.Groups, such as the NAACP, protested this change, on the basis that such a policy would benefit those who have no problems paying their bills, but would hurt those who are the most vulnerable economically and most likely to miss a payment, such as the poor, elderly, and disabled. This, in effect, would hurt their credit rating, and further hamper their ability to advance in society.
In January 2007, DTE Energy changed the policy to state that only payments 60 days or more overdue would be reported to the credit bureaus. The policy of credit reporting of all other information, without the ability for customers to opt-out, continues.
Home Protection Plus (HPP)
Through its Michcon department, DTE Energy offers customers five different applicance protection plans covering parts (with some exclusions) and labour on major household appliances such as furnaces, boilers, water heatersWater heating
Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water are for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating...
, central air conditioner systems, laundry and kitchen equipment in exchange for a monthly fee. These are advertised on a separate website. DTE Energy also uses outsourced
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
call centres who solicit these plans by telephone
Telemarketing
Telemarketing is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.Telemarketing can also include recorded sales pitches...
directly to its customers, offering a negative option billing
Negative option billing
Negative option billing is a business practice in which goods or services are provided automatically, and the customer must either pay for the service or specifically decline it in advance of billing....
approach, whereby customers are offered the plans with a fifteen day review period before the plans come into effect, as well as an incentive to enroll on the phone. The plans are also advertised through separate mailings and inserts with bills. The HPP service is not regulated by the Michigan Public Service Commission.
See also
- Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating StationEnrico Fermi Nuclear Generating StationThe Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan. It is approximately halfway between Detroit, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio. It is also visible from parts of Amherstburg, Ontario. Two units have been...
- Monroe Power PlantMonroe Power PlantThe Monroe Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant located in Monroe, Michigan on the western shore of Lake Erie. It is owned by the Detroit Edison Company, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. The plant was constructed in the early 1970s and was completed in 1974. The plant has 4 generating units, each...
- St. Clair Power Plant
- Belle River Power PlantBelle River Power PlantBelle River Power Plant is a major coal- and natural gas-fired power plant owned by Detroit Edison, a subsidiary of DTE Energy. It is located in St. Clair County, Michigan, on the peninsula formed by the St. Clair and Belle rivers. The plant was built across M-29 from the St. Clair Power Plant in...
- American Light and TractionAmerican Light and TractionAmerican Light and Traction was founded in 1900 for the purpose for consolidating the utility industry's small, local power suppliers. By 1901, American Light and Traction owned and controlled over 40 gas producting plants, electric light and traction properties.-History:* 1900 - founded by...
- DTE Energy Music TheatreDTE Energy Music TheatreOriginally built by the Nederlander Organization in the early 1970s, the DTE Energy Music Theatre is a 15,274-seat amphitheater located in Clarkston, Michigan. It was originally known as the Pine Knob Music Theatre, due to its proximity to the nearby Pine Knob ski area and golf course...