Community Corner

DTE Energy Teams Up With THAW to Help Dearborn Families

130 customers received assistance with their energy bills on Friday at Henry Ford Community College.

DTE Energy held a Customer Assistance Day (CAD) event in Dearborn on Friday, in an effort to help more than 100 families with their energy bills.

“DTE understands these are tough economic times,” said Joyce Hayes Giles, assistant to the chairman and senior vice president of Public Affairs for DTE Energy. “We want to help our customers manage and possibly reduce their bills in the future. We appreciate the support of our partners who are willing to share their expertise on this special day.”

Mark Majewski, community outreach manager for DTE, said roughly 130 customers from across southeast Michigan were invited to attend the event at Henry Ford Community College. The bulk of the customers were from Detroit and Dearborn.

Participants had the opportunity to meet with representatives from human service agencies including ACCESS and Mission of Peace, and apply for assistance from The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW). Customers also received information about home weatherization services and tools to lower energy costs.

"We try to work with folks who are in danger of having their utility service turned off," Majewski said. "If the customers meet certain income requirements, THAW provides a home energy grant to pay for all or most of their bill."

Majewski said all of the participants at Friday's event were pre-approved for the grant.

Irene Watson of Detroit said she was overjoyed to receive assistance through the Customer Appreciation Day.

"I really appreciate what they did," Watson said. "Through THAW I was able to apply for a grant to pay for my gas bill."

Myrilless Drawe of Dearborn Heights said she was also appreciative of DTE's efforts to help her keep her utilities turned on.

"They did a very nice job," she said. "I'm relieved that I will be able to keep my electricity on, especially with the recent hot weather."

For more information on DTE, visit http://dteenergy.com


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