DTE Energy (Detroit, Michigan) announced that Detroit Edison intends to request regulatory recovery of costs it incurred during the massive August blackout that affected approximately 50 million people in eight states and parts of Canada. This request will have no immediate impact on residential customer rates, which are capped at current levels through the end of 2005.

On August 14, failures in the regional power transmission grid caused nine of Detroit Edison's power plants to trip off-line, leaving virtually all of its 2.1 million customers without power. The company estimates the financial impact of the blackout (excluding net lost revenue of US$10 million which Detroit Edison is not seeking to recover) was in the range of $35 million to $40 million pre-tax ($23 million to $26 million after-tax, or $0.14 to $0.16 per share).

Detroit Edison intends to file an application with the Michigan Public Service Commission in the near future, seeking to defer these costs and permission to include the costs in customer rates after the expiration of the current rate freeze.