Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

DTE Energy

 
Hoover's Profile: DTE Energy Company
(NYSE:DTE)
Company Financials
Income Statement
Balance Sheet
Cash Flow Statement

Contact Information
DTE Energy Company
2000 2nd Ave.
Detroit, MI 48226-1279
MI Tel. 313-235-4000
Fax 313-235-8055

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.dteenergy.com
Employees: 10,471
Employee growth: 2.0%

Detroit's economy may be lackluster, but DTE Energy still provides a reliable spark. The holding company's main subsidiary, Detroit Edison, distributes electricity to some 2.2 million customers in southeastern Michigan. The utility's power plants (mainly fossil-fueled) have a generating capacity of more than 11,100 MW. The company's Michigan Consolidated Gas (MichCon) unit distributes natural gas to 1.2 million customers. DTE Energy's nonregulated operations (in 25 US states) include energy marketing and trading; coal transportation and procurement; energy management services for commercial and industrial customers; independent and on-site power generation; and gas exploration, production, and processing.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2008:
Sales: $9,329.0M
One year growth: 9.7%
Net income: $546.0M
Income growth: (30.6%)

Officers:
Chairman and CEO: Anthony F. Earley Jr.
President and COO: Gerard M. Anderson
EVP and CFO: David E. Meador

Competitors:
CMS Energy
Integrys Energy Group
Wisconsin Energy

Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Company News: DTE Energy
Top
Company History: DTE Energy Company
Top

Incorporated: 1903 as Detroit Edison Company
NAIC: 221122 Electric Power Distribution; 221112 Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation; 551112 Offices of Other Holding Companies
SIC: 4911 Electric Services; 4931 Electric & Other Services Combined; 4939 Combination Utility Nec; 6719 Holding Companies Nec

DTE Energy Company manufactures and distributes fossil fuel, hydroelectric, and nuclear energy. The company's largest subsidiaries, Detroit Edison and MichCon, provide energy and/or gas services to more than three million customers in Michigan, accounting for over half of Michigan's residents. DTE also owns over 840 miles of pipeline in 29 states for the transport and distribution of fossil fuels and owns a number of subsidiary companies involved in energy trading, transportation and the sale of unconventional gas products. With revenues exceeding $9 billion in 2006 and total assets in excess of $23 billion, DTE has grown rapidly during the first decade of the 21st century to become one of the largest energy supply companies in the nation.

Origins

Electric companies sprang up throughout the United States after Thomas Edison's development of electric lighting in 1879. In Detroit alone, Brush Electric Light Company, Fort Wayne Electric Company, Commercial Electric Light Company, Detroit Electric Light and Power Company, Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit, and Peninsular Electric Light Company all simultaneously existed. Edison Illuminating had been formed on April 15, 1886, to supply alternating current to homes and businesses; and Peninsular Electric Light Company had been formed on June 16, 1891, to operate Detroit's street lights. It was not long before competition became so fierce that the less successful companies were swallowed up, and Peninsular Electric Light Company and Edison Illuminating were all that remained.

On January 1, 1903, Detroit Edison's founders purchased the securities of the Edison Illuminating Company and the Peninsular Electric Light Company and on January 17 The Detroit Edison Company was incorporated with Edison Illuminating as a subsidiary. For financial reasons, incorporation took place in New York rather than Michigan. Charles W. Wetmore became the company's first president and remained in that position until 1912. Detroit Edison's first general manager, Alex Dow, came to the company from its predecessor Edison Illuminating.

At the time of the company's founding, Detroit Edison's customer base was larger than the company's supply capabilities. The first objective, therefore, was to increase generating and distribution capacity. In 1904, Detroit Edison finished construction on the Delray power house with two turbine generators together producing over 6,000 kilowatts of energy. The population of Detroit continued to grow, and the company was forced to add two additional turbines to the Delray power house in 1905 and again in 1906.

In 1905 Detroit Edison began to expand through acquisition in addition to construction. Among its purchases were Washtenaw Light and Power Company, Michigan Milling Company, and Ann Arbor Agricultural Company, making Detroit Edison the owner of the Argo, Barton, Geddes, and Superior generating dams on the Huron River. On July 24, 1906, the company formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Eastern Michigan Edison Company, which became the holding unit for the company's Huron River subsidiaries.

Building New Power Sources

As the company continued to suffer from insufficient supply, construction began on a second power station at Delray with a turbine capable of generating 14,000 kilowatts. The new turbine, completed in 1907, was a success but only temporarily alleviated supply issues. Two more 14,000-kilowatt turbines were added in 1910 and 1911 and the company's research and development division began looking into new technological developments to increase production capabilities.

In 1912 Dow became president of Detroit Edison. During his tenure Detroit Edison grew substantially. In 1913 a 15,000-kilowatt turbine was added to the new power house at Delray, and Detroit Edison began to construct a power plant at Conners Creek. For roughly the first decade of Detroit Edison's existence (the period ranging from 1903 until 1915) the company's subsidiary Edison Illuminating Company distributed, sold, billed for, and collected on, the energy produced by its parent, Detroit Edison. In 1915, under Dow, Detroit Edison began to serve its customers directly from the Connors Creek plant. Edison Illuminating survived as a company handling the parent company's real estate. Also in 1915, the company put two of the Conners Creek facility's three 20,000-kilowatt units into service, with the third becoming operational in 1917.

The Detroit Edison Company's generating capacity continued to grow under Dow, and in 1919 the company bought Port Huron Gas and Electric. In 1920 a 30,000-kilowatt generator was added to the plant at Delray. In 1922 Detroit Edison completed its first in suburban Marysville. Detroit Edison put its second at Trenton Channel in Trenton in July 1924. The Trenton Channel plant burned powdered coal, a technical innovation at the time, but also a process that tended to pollute the air because powdered coal is burned while suspended. Detroit Edison was aware of this fact and consequently equipped the plant, the first of its kind to use these pollution control devices, with electrostatic precipitators.

In addition to expanding its generating capacity, Detroit Edison expanded its service area. By 1929 the company supplied more than 4,582 square miles. In 1936 Detroit Edison purchased the Michigan Electric Power Company and acquired the entire "thumb" territory of southeastern Michigan, to increase its service area to 7,587 square miles.

New Leadership

In 1940 Alex Dow retired as company president; two years later he withdrew from the company's board of directors. Under Dow's leadership, not only had generating capacity and service area expanded, but Detroit Edison had developed its own engineering research department, founded in 1913, and improved customer service. This included instituting free light bulb service, financing the connection of electricity to customers previously using gas, and lending electrical motors.

From 1944 to 1954 former U.S. Senator Prentiss M. Brown held the post of first chairman of the board, while James W. Parker served as president and general manager. Walker Cisler, who joined Detroit Edison in 1943, became the company's first executive vice-president in 1948 and, in addition, worked with the U.S. government on the Marshall Plan, developing the economic and electric power of other nations.

When Parker retired in 1951, Cisler took over as president and general manager. Cisler's primary objectives for the company involved expanding generating capacity and improving transmission to the farthest reaches of Detroit Edison's service area, as well as exploring research opportunities. By 1954 the St. Clair Power Plant was completely operational, with a total capacity of 624,000 kilowatts. That year Cisler became senior officer of Detroit Edison, which by then was looking into nuclear energy.

In 1952 Cisler assumed the leadership responsibilities for organizing electric utilities to explore the possibilities of nuclear energy, a development he named the Enrico Fermi Breeder Reactor Project. Among the companies he persuaded to join the project was the Public Service Electric and Gas Co. of Newark, New Jersey, and he convinced that company to assign one of its nuclear engineers, Walter J. McCarthy, to join the project as head of the nuclear and analytical division in October 1952. The project was headquartered at Detroit Edison. It was formally organized in 1955, with 34 companies participating, as the Power Reactor Development Company (PRDC). This consortium would eventually own and operate the Enrico Fermi Power Plant. Ground was broken on Fermi's first unit that year with Cisler as president and principal organizer of the PRDC.

As the possibilities of atomic energy were explored by the PRDC, Cisler continued to build conventional generating capacity. The River Rouge plant was completed in 1956, and by 1958 it had a capacity of 841,500 kilowatts. In 1961 St. Clair's capacity was upped to 1.35 million kilowatts when its sixth turbine generator went into operation. With its assets growing so rapidly, Detroit Edison authorized a two-for-one common stock split in December 1962.

The Onset of Nuclear Power Distribution

In 1963 Walter McCarthy became general manager of the PRDC, with Cisler continuing as president. McCarthy also formally joined the Detroit Edison staff at this time, while continuing on loan to PRDC. On August 23 of that year, Fermi 1, the first commercial-sized fast breeder nuclear reactor, finally went into operation, beginning its first self-sustaining chain reaction. The plant used uranium to generate steam to produce electricity, and as part of the reaction process it produced plutonium, which was also an atomic fuel. In October 1966 a metal device that had been attached to the reactor's inside wall after it was built broke away. The device, whose purpose was to direct the flow of liquid sodium--used to transfer heat--through the nuclear core, ended up blocking the flow and caused the fuel to overheat and begin melting, damaging both the reactor and the fuel assemblies. After the partial core meltdown, Fermi I was taken off-line.

In spite of Walker Cisler's campaign for constant generating plant growth, demand still threatened to outstrip supply, and so, in 1966, peaking units were introduced into the generating system. Peaking generators burn gas and oil, are mobile, and can be brought on-line in ten minutes. The first peaking units were installed at the company's generating facility near Monroe, Michigan. By the time Detroit Edison's Harbor Beach Power Plant went online in 1968, nine peaking units were being used.

In the midst of repairs at Fermi 1 and the company's efforts to continue building generating capacity, Detroit Edison was reincorporated in Michigan on April 17, 1967. In that same year Detroit Edison requested its first electric rate increase in 20 years from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The company sought the increase to help meet the expenses of building generating capacity.

In 1970 the first of the Monroe power plant's coal-fired units went on-line. At the time, the four-unit Monroe plant was the largest in the world, and the company planned to add five more units: the two-unit Belle River coal-burning plant, the Greenwood Energy Center with its oil-burning plant, and two nuclear reactors, Fermi 2 and 3.

In November 1971 William G. Meese took over Cisler's position as chief executive officer while Cisler remained chairman. Meanwhile, the company was burdened with huge plant costs. It had taken four years to repair the reactor and fuel assemblies at Fermi 1, and when the repairs were finally completed the problem-plagued reactor remained operational only sporadically before being shut down again on September 22, 1972. In November of that year the PRDC executive committee decided to decommission the plant as of December 31, 1975.

Financial Strain and the Mid-East Oil Embargo

By 1973, the Monroe power plant's four units had a total capacity of three million kilowatts. The Ludington storage plant began commercial operation, supplying 49 percent of its generating capacity to Detroit Edison, with the remainder going to Consumers Power, which supplied the area with natural gas. Then the Middle East oil embargo hit (also known as the OPEC oil embargo), striking the southeastern Michigan auto industry hard, and the demand for energy dropped as automobile production slumped and inflation and environmental protection costs continued to rise.

William Meese began to look for ways to cut Detroit Edison's overhead costs. The energy-efficient Ludington plant was part of this effort. In 1974 Meese began to implement other important practices, such as the increased hiring of minorities and women, as well as establishing a strategic planning procedure designed to help management anticipate future conditions. To deal with the new difficulties brought about by southeastern Michigan's economic recession, Meese also temporarily suspended all power plant construction and environmental modifications.

In 1975 Cisler retired and Meese assumed Cisler's position as chairman of the board. The company reorganized, setting up six divisions within Detroit Edison's service area, each headed by managers responsible for their division's business. That year, Walter McCarthy became executive vice-president of operations.

In 1976 another Meese cost-efficient measure was implemented when the Superior Midwest Energy Terminal was opened by a subsidiary of Detroit Edison. All of Detroit Edison's major power plants consumed coal, but the company did not mine or transport the coal itself. Realizing the company's dependence on reliable transport and supply of coal, Meese created the energy terminal at Superior, Wisconsin, to provide rail and water shipment of western low-sulfur coal. He also negotiated a 26-year contract for the purchase of coal from Montana, and had the company purchase its own coal cars to ensure shipment.

In 1977, the temporary suspension on power plant construction was lifted, the Greenwood power plant was set into operation, and construction was started on the Belle River power plant. In 1979, McCarthy became president and chief operating officer of Detroit Edison and John R. Hamann was elected to the newly created position of vice-chairman of the board. That was also the year that the company's Greenwood Power Plant became fully operational.

Federal Regulations Slow Nuclear Expansion

In 1979, as Fermi 2 was in the midst of construction, the disaster at Three Mile Island hit. Two weeks later Detroit Edison had formed a 24-member safety review task force to review Fermi 2 again and recheck all its operating systems and safety features. Although the task force found everything to be entirely operational at Fermi 2, it took Detroit Edison several years of readjustments before the reactor could meet the new regulations that arose in response to the Three Mile Island incident. In fact, the added cost of meeting these new standards spun Detroit Edison into financial crisis.

The company began taking steps to help revive southeastern Michigan's economy. In 1979 it began the Energy Plus advertising campaign on a national and international level to interest companies in bringing their manufacturing facilities to Metro Detroit. With the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce, Michigan's Department of Commerce, and the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments, Detroit Edison founded the Greater Detroit-Southeastern Michigan Business Attraction and Expansion Council. Detroit Edison also helped develop the Economic Alliance for Business, an organization aimed at improving Michigan's business climate. In September 1981 Meese retired and was succeeded by McCarthy as chairman and chief executive officer.

In April 1983, in order to consolidate the company, which was operating under dual incorporation in the states of New York and Michigan, Detroit Edison stockholders agreed to a merger plan. This plan was put into effect on June 30, 1983, when both the New York and the Michigan corporations merged with Detroit Edison's wholly owned inoperative subsidiary, Peninsular Electric Light Company. The Detroit Edison Company was the merger's sole surviving company, and retained only its Michigan incorporation. All liabilities, capital, assets, and operations remained unchanged.

In 1985 Fermi 2 was completed, and low-power testing began. McCarthy, having been general manager of Fermi 1 during its early stages, felt experienced operating management was needed. With the delays involved in bringing in new plant management and in receiving approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Fermi 2 resumed low-power testing in July 1986.

In 1987 Detroit Edison's wholly owned subsidiary, Washtenaw Energy Corporation, was merged into the company. Later that year, the company bought the electric business and properties serving the city of Pontiac from Consumers Power and began to supply the people of Pontiac directly, increasing the company's total service area to 7,598 square miles. Consumers Power had served Pontiac with electricity bought from Detroit Edison.

On January 15, 1988, Fermi 2 began full-power operation. By November Fermi 2 had passed its warranty run and was on its way to long-term operation. However, after-tax write-offs of $968 million--resulting partially from the MPSC's disallowances of costs connected with the unit, dating from a 1986 rate case--caused Detroit Edison to post a net loss of $378.8 million in 1988.

McCarthy began to implement programs designed to increase sales and cut costs, keeping close watch on operating and maintenance expenses, capital expenditures, and the size of the company's staff, reducing it to its smallest size in 12 years--9,669 at the end of 1990. Perhaps most important was the resolution of rate-making issues involving Fermi 2. In December 1988 the MPSC had increased Detroit Edison's base rates by adding $29.5 million to a previously authorized $404.2 million--for a total of $433.7 million--to partly cover the cost of building Fermi 2. This increase was to be phased in over five years beginning January 1, 1989. That year Fermi 2 was taken off the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's list of plants requiring special attention. It completed its first scheduled shutdown for refueling in December 1989, and it produced more than 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity during the year. By June 1989 The Detroit Edison Company stock had risen to its highest price in 17 years, positioning Detroit Edison as one of the top-performing U.S. utilities.

In 1989 Fermi 2 had represented 31 percent of Detroit Edison's assets. In 1990 this grew to 33 percent as the company purchased the minority share of Fermi 2 from Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc., for $539.6 million, giving the company total ownership of the plant. On May 1, 1990, McCarthy retired as chairman and chief executive officer of Detroit Edison and John E. Lobbia was elected to replace him. As a result of strong lobbying in Washington, D.C., Detroit Edison was in compliance with the first phase of the requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, scheduled to take effect in 1995.

Transition and Growth

By keeping ahead of federal regulations, in 1990 the company achieved record revenues as well as record earnings for its common stock. Detroit Edison's common stock hit its highest point in 23 years, when it reached $30.25, closing at $28.25, a full 11 percent higher than 1989's close. Sales during the year were reported at $3.31 billion, $104 million over 1989 levels.

However, things were soon to change. The recessionary economy of the early 1990s hit southeastern Michigan hard, slowing production at many automotive and steel plants and reducing demand for electricity from these industries. In response, Detroit Edison aggressively marketed its services to other industries, so much so that it had record sales to the commercial segment. In 1991, with record sales reaching $3.59 billion, the company received the "Electric Utility of the Year" award from the trade magazine Electric Light & Power. Based on the company's record revenues and earnings, in mid-December 1991 its common stock reached $35 per share, the highest price in 25 years.

Into the mid-1990s, Michigan's economy and state policy continued to be uncertain as its basic industries struggled to compete with foreign manufacturers. In addition, a new governor was redefining state goals. For these reasons, Detroit Edison continued to minimize staff levels, reduce its use of foreign crude, and cut its dependence on industrial sales, thereby maximizing the company's flexibility. Net income in 1993 reflected these efforts: $588 million, a jump of 14 percent over 1990's record levels.

As the decade advanced, it became increasingly clear that the utility industry was on the brink of major changes. In late 1992 Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which allowed competition in the utility industry's wholesale sector by mandating existing utilities to transmit electricity generated by other producers through their lines. The company received another setback on Christmas Day 1993, when a turbine generator fire at Fermi 2 caused the high-production plant to close while repairs were made. The plant returned to partial service in 1995, as the company posted sales of $3.64 billion against net income of $406 million.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a new set of rules in April 1996 affecting transmission capacity and wholesale and retail competition. The following year, the industry was deregulated through the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, which allowed utility companies such as Detroit Edison to operate as monopolies. Under the new federal law, other companies would be permitted to enter the area in as little at two years. Prior to deregulation, DTE's primary concern was to expand and maintain its plants and equipment. With deregulation looming, the company looked to its economic structure and attempted to streamline costs in preparation for competition in a larger field of competitors.

To supplement the new federal legislation, the MPSC designed a framework for the gradual restructuring of Michigan's electricity business. Beginning July 1, 1997, the state's utility load would be gradually opened to competition through a bidding process, with all customers able to select their energy supplier by January 1, 2002. Technical, environmental, and business-related issues would also be addressed and responded to during this five-year period.

In response to these industry-wide changes, Detroit Edison was reorganized in late 1995. On January 1, 1996, DTE Energy Company became the holding company for subsidiaries that included Detroit Edison and several nonutility assets, among them Biomass Energy Systems, Edison Energy Services, and Midwest Energy Resources. The new structure allowed the company greater financial flexibility in creating new energy-related businesses and separated regulated subsidiaries from those not under state or federal regulations.

The biggest challenge facing DTE and CEO John E. Lobbia in a competitive market was the company's high cost of production, as well as the huge investment the company had made in its Fermi 2 plant. With deregulation and competition from other providers, electrical rates would be sure to drop drastically, and DTE feared it would be priced out of the market it had controlled for decades. In preparation for full-scale deregulation in 2002, DTE signed its major commercial and industrial electricity customers (including the Big Three automakers) into ten-year contracts in order to help recover the company's high capital equipment costs. These capital costs would also diminish as a result of debt refinancing through the Michigan Legislature's approval of the issuance rate-reduction bonds in mid-1997.

DTE also began to leverage its extensive expertise in energy-related systems' engineering and installation. In an effort to increase consumption and attract new residential customers, new programs were developed, including an interruptible air conditioning program that promised to improve system management and also lower electricity rates by up to 20 percent. Over 250,000 customers were enrolled in the system in its first years of operation.

In 1999, DTE Energy completed a major merger with MCN Energy, in a deal estimated at $2.6 billion in cash and stock, creating the largest electric utility company in Michigan. The merger, the largest such acquisition in Detroit history at the time, represented another phase of DTE's efforts to strengthen the company in preparation for full industry deregulation in 2002. MCN Energy was a market leader in natural gas transport and storage, two key areas needed by DTE to maintain a hold on the Michigan power market.

Deregulation and Adjustment

DTE was busy integrating MCN Energy subsidiaries into the company's administrative structure. In 2003, in efforts to comply with federal regulations, DTE sold part of its energy transmission subsidiary, International Transmission Co., to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, for a reported $610 million. While Michigan customers were free to choose from competing utility providers, the state of Michigan passed an additional regulation, in 2004, requiring that customers choosing to leave DTE Energy for a competitor were required to remain with their new choice for a period of no less than two years. The regulatory amendment was a positive change for DTE as many customers chose not to switch their service given the two-year commitment.

During this post-deregulation period, DTE sought to maximize its profits in some industry sectors not affected by deregulation, such as in methane gas extraction and coal reclamation. Another strategy included acquiring assets from energy companies that were struggling as competition among them increased. Economic downturns during this time further challenged DTE. According to the company's CEO, Anthony F. Earley, in an April 2004 Crain's Detroit Business article, tough economic times made collecting money owed from customers tough as well.

Blackout and Recovery

In August 2003 Michigan and large portions of the Midwest, Northeast, and parts of Ontario, Canada, were hit with a major power blackout. Initial fears were that the outage was the result of terrorism, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiated an independent investigation. It was eventually discovered, however, that the outage was the result of a power plant failure in Ohio, linked to a relatively simple case of overdemand. The initial failure caused several cascade failures linked to problems with high-voltage power line obstructions that ultimately led to over 100 power plant failures, including those of DTE Energy.

DTE officials struggled to return power. Moreover, Michigan also soon suffered from water shortages, as pumping stations went offline. The blackout lasted for over two days, and Michigan's Governor Jennifer Granholm declared a state of emergency, ordering drinking water and gasoline to be brought into Detroit. In press statements, Earley urged those whose power had been restored to limit their usage in an effort to stretch supply while the company repaired production facilities. "Customers," he remarked in a press release, "hold the key to the speed of the restoration." By August 17, DTE had managed to restore power to its remaining customers although some distribution problems remained.

As federal investigations ensued, each utility company involved in the blackout conducted an internal investigation to ensure their own safe operating procedures. In one press release, Earley blamed a breakdown in communication between the Ohio facility and neighboring facilities as a key element in the blackout.

In 2005, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which gave FERC additional oversight authority over transactions and mergers between utility companies as well as to supplement state provisions governing transmission of energy between states. The new legislation also gave FERC increased control over the national energy grid to maintain quality standards in hopes of avoiding national emergencies like the 2003 blackout. Utility companies were forced to adjust to the new regulations, which included increased transparency in financial transactions.

In February 2005, DTE Energy hosted a conference on alternative energy, which was attended by environmental leaders and representatives of several major corporations, such as General Motors, with direct interest in alternative energy. The conference was one of several initiatives taken independently by DTE to address environmental concerns. DTE won its first award from the Environmental Awards Council for the company's emissions reduction program. In 2006, DTE became one of the first utility companies to offer customers the choice of using renewable energy for all or part of their energy services.

The company estimated that the average household could switch to using 100 percent renewable energy at a cost of roughly $10 to $15 per month. In 2008, DTE partnered with Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc., to provide wind energy for the company's GreenCurrents renewable energy program. In 2007, DTE commissioned McKinsey & Company, an environmental consulting firm to conduct research into the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The report, which recommended relatively minor steps that would enable the nation to cut greenhouse emissions by more than 28 percent, was conducted in cooperation with the National Resources Defense Council.

DTE posted revenues in excess of $9 billion in 2006, while the company's total assets exceeded $23 billion. In November 2006, the company announced a Non-Utility Monitization Plan, which involved selling some of the company's nonutility holdings as the companies matured to a sufficient size to maximize profit.

By 2008, DTE seemed to have successfully met the various challenges to the industry brought on by deregulation. In fact, it was the largest utility company in Michigan, servicing over 50 percent of the state's residential and commercial population. The company also operated peripheral subsidiaries in 29 states handling transportation and production of gas products.

Principal Subsidiaries

Detroit Edison; MichCon; DTE Energy Services, Inc.; DTE Biomass Energy; DTE Rail Services; Midwest Energy Resources.

Principal Competitors

CMS Energy Corporation; Integrys Energy Group, Inc.; Wisconsin Energy Corporation.

Further Reading

Bodipo-Memba, Alejandro, "DTE to Scrutinize Itself," Detroit Free Press, December 16, 2005.

Electric Utility Industry Overview: Introduction to the Restructuring Debate, Detroit: Detroit Edison, 1996.

Lane, Amy, "DTE Aims to Spark Growth Beyond Electricity," Crain's Detroit Business, April 14, 2003.

------, "Rate Concerns Drive DTE's Push to Cut Costs," Crain's Detroit Business, March 20, 2006.

"Major Power Outage Hits New York, Other Large Cities," CNN News, August 14, 2003.

McCarthy, Walter J., Jr., Detroit Edison Generates More Than Electricity, New York: Newcomen, 1983.

Serju, Tricia, "The Light on Utilities," Detroit News, December 2, 1996, p. 6F.

"A Short History of Detroit Edison," DTE corporate typescript, 1990.

Wald, Matthew L. "Study Details How U.S. Could Cut 28% of Greenhouse Gasses," New York Times, November 30, 2007.

Wald, Matthew L., and Carl Hulse, "Utilities Point Their Fingers at Each Other over Blackout," New York Times, September 3, 2003.

Wilgoren, Jodi, and Danny Hakim, "The Blackout: The Midwest: Detroit Sweats While It Waits for Electricity," New York Times, August 16, 2003.

— Maya Sahafi; Updated by Pamela L. Shelton, Micah L. Issitt


Wikipedia: DTE Energy
Top
DTE Energy Co.
Type Public
Headquarters United States Detroit, MI, USA
Key people Anthony F. Earley, Jr.
Industry Electric and Gas Utilities
Employees 10,262[1]
Website www.dteenergy.com
DTE Energy Headquarters in Detroit, Michigan

DTE Energy Co. (NYSEDTE) is a Detroit, Michigan-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, an investor-owned electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, and Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. (MichCon), a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan.

The name "DTE" is taken from the stock symbol for Detroit Edison, DTE. [1]

Contents

Renewable Energy and Alternative Propulsion

Biomass

In May 2008, DTE Biomass Energy agreed to buy the 50-MW E. J. Stoneman Generating Station in Cassville, Wisconsin, with plans to convert it to burn wood waste in 2009.[2]

PHEV and V2G

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), an agency within the state’s Department of Labor & Economic Growth, has awarded a partnership of the University of Michigan, GM, 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 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.[3] Compensation In May 2007, Forbes listed 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.[2]

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 coal, 16.4% from natural gas, 11.7% from oil, 9.3% from nuclear, and 0.2% from biomass. DTE 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 is one of the largest contributors to candidates for Congress. These contributions total $317,499 to the 110th US Congress (as of the third quarter), the largest of which has been to Rep. Carl Levin (D-MI) for $21,500. Congressman Levin, for his part, has been a strong supporter of the coal industry on energy bills.

Contributions like this from from fossil fuel companies to members of Congress are often seen as a political barrier to pursuing clean energy.

More information on coal industry contributions to Congress can be found at FollowtheCoalMoney.org, a project sponsored by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Oil Change USA and Appalachian Voices.

Existing coal-fired power plants

DTE Energy had 22 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 7,998 MW of capacity. Here is a list of DTE's coal power plants with capacity over 100 MW:

Plant Name County Year(S) Built Capacity
Monroe Monroe 1971-1974 3280 MW
St. Clair St. Clair 1953-1954, 1961-1969 1547 MW
Belle River St. Clair 1984-1985 1395 MW
Trenton Channel 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's 7 major coal-fired power plants emitted 43.3 million tons of CO2 (0.7% of all U.S. CO2 emissions) and 214,000 tons of SO2 (1.4% of all U.S. SO2 emissions).

Credit Reporting Program

In August 2006, DTE 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 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 offers customers five different applicance protection plans covering parts (with some exclusions) and labour on major household appliances such as furnaces, boilers, water heaters, central air conditioner systems, laundry and kitchen equipment in exchange for a monthly fee. These are advertised on a separate website. DTE also uses outsourced call centres who solicit these plans by telephone directly to its customers, offering a negative option 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

References

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Hoover's Profile. ©2008 Hoover's, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Stock Quote. © MarketWatch, Inc. 2008. All rights reserved. Subject to the Terms of Use. Designed and powered by Dow Jones Client Solutions.
MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, BigCharts and the BigCharts logo are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. Dow Jones is the registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.  Read more
Company History. International Directory of Company Histories. Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "DTE Energy" Read more