DTE said in June that coal-fired units at the plant are among eight at three of its facilities that are slated to be shut down within the next seven years.
Advertisement
The plant has been in service since 1953 and the utility said the facility has 294 employees overall.
Crews from throughout the county are battling a fire at a DTE Energy facility after an explosion Thursday evening in East China Township where some workers are unaccounted for.
The plant invoked emergency procedures and shut down all units onsite by 7:01 p.m. DTE Energy said employees were evacuated safely and that there were no known injuries at the plant.
A fire has broken out at a DTE energy plant in East China Township near M29 and Recor Road along the St. Clair River.
Firefighters from St. Clair and Marine City were first on the scene, but as many as 30 departments, including Port Huron, which is almost 20 miles to the north, were said to have been involved in extinguishing the fire. No residential evacuations were reported Thursday night.
A stretch of M-29 near the power plant was reopened Friday morning after being closed to traffic following the blaze.
DTE Energy officials were not immediately available for comment.
The utility said the plant is closed and there was no estimate on when it might reopen, but customers won’t see any effects on electrical service. Fire crews extinguished the blaze at about 4:45 a.m. Friday and continue to monitor the facility for rekindling. A utility also said that there were no announcements yet when the plant will open.
DTE Energy Co. issued the update Friday morning about its St. Clair Power Plant in East China Township, about 40 miles northeast of Detroit.
In a statement, DTE says air monitoring is in place and readings are “well within normal limits outside the facility perimeter”.
Advertisement
Officials said at a news conference late Thursday night that the fire was about 80 percent under control.
