Thursday, June 13, 2013

Los reportes de estafas acrecientan

Queremos que los clientes tomen conciencia de las estafas que siguen enfocadas en la población que habla español. Decenas de nuevos casos se han reportado en los últimos días. Los estafadores también esta extendidos tratando de estafar a la gente de toda la comunidad hispana.

Los estafadores convencen a los clientes a comprar tarjetas de debito prepagadas y a entregar la información de la tarjeta a ellos. A los clientes muchas veces les dicen que están con un pago atrasado y con el riesgo de ser desconectado. Algunas veces les dicen que hay un mal funcionamiento del medidor eléctrico y que puede causar un incendio o una explosión. Los estafadores dirán cualquier cosa para asustar a la gente y así se conviertan en una víctima de estafa.

Los estafadores son muy sofisticados. Usando programas de computación, ellos sabrán los nombres y direcciones de los clientes. En algunos casos, el nombre de We Energies aparece incluso en el identificador de llamadas. Se pide a los clientes que cuelguen y llamen al 800-242-9137 para determinar si la llamada fue una estafa.

No solicitamos a nuestros clientes el pago por teléfono de esta manera. Si usted recibe una llamada que parece sospechosa, es lo que es.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Reports of scam ramp up

We want customers to be aware of a scam that continues to target the Spanish-speaking population. Dozens of new cases have been reported over the past several days. The scammers also are branching out, trying to victimize people beyond the Hispanic community.

The scammers convince customers to purchase prepaid debit cards and to relinquish the card information to them. Often times they claim customers are behind on a bill and at risk of disconnection. Sometimes they claim there’s a malfunctioning electric meter that may cause a fire or explosion. They will say anything to frighten people into becoming a victim.

These scammers are sophisticated. Using computer programs, they know customers’ names and addresses. In some cases, the We Energies name or phone number has even appeared on caller ID. Customers are urged to hang up and call us at 800-242-9137 to determine if the call was a scam.

We do not solicit payment from customers over the phone in this manner. If you get a call that sounds suspicious, it is.

Be prepared during storm season

Our crews and emergency response teams do everything they can to keep your lights on. But sometimes, severe storms stop the power from flowing to our customers. We rely on you to tell us when your power is out; you are an important part of our ability to identify and respond to storm damage. Keep our power outage hotline number in your cell phone or in another convenient place so you can let us know about power outages or emergencies.

We Energies Power Outage Hotline: 800-662-4797  

Be sure to have a safety plan in place in case you lose power. Keep emergency items handy, including food, water, flashlights, batteries and a cell phone. If someone in your home has a critical medical condition, let us know. We offer tips for developing a backup plan so you can be prepared if your service is interrupted.

Get outage information 
Our outage map provides information on outages throughout our service territory. You can view outages by communities or regions. You also can see:
  • How many customers are out of service
  • When the outage was reported
  • The cause, if known
The outage map updates every 15 minutes. The map also displays on mobile devices.

Outage map

Monday, June 10, 2013

Leading the way in coal combustion product use

Since the mid-1980s, we have steadily reduced the amount of coal combustion products (CCPs) that are landfilled, even when faced with increasing amounts of CCPs from new generating plants and air quality control systems added to reduce emissions at older plants. Over the last several years, we beneficially used nearly all of the 8.8 million tons of CCPs produced at our power plants. The national average is around 45 percent.

We continue to be a leader in developing new uses for our CCPs, including use of fly ash to improve the performance of asphalt pavement (“ASHphalt”) and gypsum to reduce nutrient runoff from agricultural fields.

Our efforts are not limited to the daily production of CCPs. Over the past few years, we have recovered landfill ash for use on the I-94 reconstruction project, reclaiming valuable landfill capacity and conserving quarried materials for use by future generations.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

What you should know about power surges

A power surge is a brief but sharp increase of electricity that can enter your home and damage your appliances and electronic equipment.

A power surge occurs on the system when higher voltage makes contact with a lower-voltage line. Power surges can be caused by:


  • Immediate or cumulative damage to the system as a result of inclement weather – wind, rain, snow or lightning.
  • Third-party involvement – car striking utility pole.
  • Equipment failure – breakdown within distribution system.

  • Power surges are rare, but they do occur. One way to protect yourself from a power surge is to install a whole-house surge protector. Contact an electrician to discuss installation costs and other details.

    Wednesday, June 5, 2013

    Moving? Make it easy

    If you’re moving, be sure to contact us. We offer convenient online and phone options for starting,
    stopping or transferring your energy service.

    Start, stop or transfer your energy service online
    Go to our website to start, stop or transfer energy services within our service territory. Online processing requires at least two business days. To use our online service, you must be:
    • A residential homeowner or renter.
    • Current with your energy payments.
    • Willing to provide your Social Security number and previous address (to start service only).
    Do it all in one call
    You can call us anytime at 800-242-9137. With just one call, we can arrange natural gas and electric service, as well as phone, cable and more. Best of all, it’s free.

    Check out billing and payment options
    Moving is the perfect time to make changes to your account. We offer billing and payment options and energy efficiency information to save you time and money.