Vice Chairman & Group President, Dte
Search every verified Trevor Lauer interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In December 2022, Trevor Lauer, then President of DTE Electric, held a press conference to discuss the company's preparations for Winter Storm Elliott. Lauer stated that the storm was expected to bring 6 to 12 inches of heavy snow, 12 hours of 50 to 60 mile per hour winds, and frigid temperatures with wind chills well below zero. He said that some customers would lose power and that DTE was coordinating with CMS Energy and the state of Michigan. Lauer noted that utilities across the country were seeking additional resources and that East Coast utilities were offering incentives for linemen. Lauer advised customers to prepare for potential outages and emphasized safety measures. He warned against bringing generators indoors due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, which he described as an odorless and extremely dangerous gas. Lauer also urged the public to stay away from downed wires marked by yellow caution tape, recommending a distance of at least a bus length. He stated that DTE had approximately 700 restoration workers and that the company would ask employees to work through the weekend to restore power. Lauer expressed concern about the storm's wind impact, saying that consistent gusts of 60 miles per hour or higher could create a much more significant event for Michigan.
“Afternoon everybody I'm Trevor Lauer ... we're going to have 6 to 12 inches of very heavy snow, we're going to have 12 hours of 50 to 60 mile an hour winds followed by very frigid temperatures with the wind chills we'll expect it to be well below zero.”
“We will have some customers lose power — we're coordinating very closely with CMS Energy and the state of Michigan on how to best deal with this situation.”
“I implore anybody if you have a generator — if you have a generator you use a generator you have to keep it outside of your home; first and foremost be safe with that.”
“All of the utilities across the country are seeking additional resources to deal with the expected outages — the utilities on the East Coast are actually paying huge incentives to try to get linemen to come to the East Coast to help.”
“We have approximately 700 restoration resources or line people that will be able to do actual restoration in addition to hundreds of others that will help so we will come and we will restore the outages.”
“Because of the nature of this winter storm it's going to make restoration much harder — the first thing you have to do is get the roads clear and then there's only certain conditions that you can actually get up in a bucket or climb a pole while you're trying to restore.”
“We're asking many of [our employees] to cancel those plans right now and to plan on working Saturday, Sunday and Monday to make sure that we can restore our customers and make sure everybody's safe.”
“DTE will show up — we have 10,000 people that will show up to make sure we get the lights back on for those that lose it.”
“What worries me the most about the storm is the level of wind impact — if we start to get consistent gusts into the 60s and higher it could cause a much higher potential event for the state of Michigan.”
“If you see yellow caution tape please stay away from that — a bus length away from the yellow tape is a good way to stay safe. And second message: carbon monoxide is an odorless gas and extremely dangerous — you cannot bring a generator inside your home; if you have issues call your local police or fire department.”
DTE Electric President Trevor Lauer held a press conference Wednesday to discuss preps underway ahead of the major winter storm.
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