DTE Energy in Detroit on Friday reported 2017 revenue of $12.6 billion, up from $10.6 billion in 2016, while net income was $1.1 billion last year, compared to $868 million in 2016. The earnings were higher primarily due to better results in the nonutility businesses, the company said.
“2017 was a very good year for DTE,” says Gerry Anderson, chairman and CEO of DTE Energy. “Our financial performance was strong, but I am even prouder of some of the things we accomplished this past year that were important to our customers, our communities, and our employees.”
The highlights include passing tax reform savings to customers, and providing power restoration assistance in Florida and Puerto Rico. The recent passage of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered the corporate tax rate, which will reduce bills for customers by $190 million annually, while the company sent 600 employees and contractors to Florida and 80 personnel to Puerto Rico to help restore power after the hurricanes last September.
DTE Energy also ranked highest in customer satisfaction with gas and electric business customers in the Midwest in J.D. Power’s 2017 study. The company has improved its customer satisfaction score each year since 2012.
The company has committed to reducing carbon emissions by more than 80 percent by retiring older coal-fired power plants and replacing them with highly efficient gas plants and plants that run on renewable energy.
Last week, DTE announced it spent nearly $1.7 billion with Michigan-based companies in 2017. More than $500 million was spent in Detroit. The company’s seven-year effort to increase spending with Michigan suppliers has supported the creation of nearly 16,000 jobs in the state.
Plans for DTE’s next $260 million renewable investment in 2018 were finalized. It also filed plans for a new, high-efficiency gas power plant, invested in the smart grid, and broke ground on the NEXUS pipeline.
Once complete, the 255-mile NEXUS pipeline will have the capacity to deliver 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to markets in Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario. The 36-inch pipeline will be built below grade, mostly near railroad tracks, electrical lines, and farms — three feet below grade on farmland and five feet below grade in urban areas. All of the land has been acquired.
With four different construction crews installing 60 miles of pipeline concurrently, NEXUS is projected to take up to a year to complete. The natural gas will be generated from the Marcellus Shale in eastern Ohio. Once operational, the new capacity of natural gas is projected to produce more than $2.2 billion in cost savings to Michigan consumers between 2018 and 2033, according to a study by ICF International.
“We continue to invest in smarter energy infrastructure aimed at improving reliability and sustainability,” says Anderson. “We are in the midst of a fundamental transformation in the way we produce energy; that transition will be great for the environment, and we are going to keep our product affordable in the process.”
