World Socialist Web Site
July 21, 2010

Recent figures, obtained by the World Socialist Web Site from the Michigan Public Services Commission (MPSC), confirm the unrelenting and inhuman policy of utility shutoffs in the State of Michigan, despite the well-publicized series of deaths last winter as a direct result.

There are two primary gas and electricity companies in Michigan: DTE Energy, a merger of Detroit Edison (electricity) and Michigan Consolidated (gas), and Consumers Energy, also a combined gas and electric company. DTE, the larger of the two, is the main service provider for southeast Michigan, including Detroit.

According to MPSC’s monthly statistics, between January and May 53,040 households had their electricity turned off by DTE and another 31,729 had their gas service disconnected. Consumers Energy put 42,398 electricity customers in the dark during this period and disconnected another 35,200 gas customers. Altogether 84,769 DTE customers saw their utilities turned off during the first five months of the year compared to 77,598 homes by Consumers, a whopping total of 162,367 households.

The myth that utility companies are not allowed to shut off utilities in the winter is disproved by the MPSC statistics. January—one of the coldest months of the year—had the highest number of shutoffs for 2010, with 36,831 shutoffs between the two utility giants. On average, 30,000 households faced shutoffs each month of the five-month period.

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