An email I received from the Detroit Edison (DTE) Energy Company today. The text reads:
How it works:
Installation*: DTE will install the device on your electric meter in less than 30 minutes. No need to schedule an appointment or be at home. Your home is protected as soon as the device is installed by our technicians.
Protection and Warranties: The warranty coverage provides $5,000 per event for appliances and $1,000 per event for electronics to repair or replace your household items in the event the device fails to protect against damaging surges.
Stay Connected: Your surge device comes with a FREE 20-foot power cable. In the event of a power outage, you can connect your generator to the surge device with the power cable to power your home up to the generator’s capacity. Easy access for your generator – you won’t have to run extension cords from your generator into your home.
Learn more | Enroll now
*There’s a one-time installation fee for a surge protection plus device of $49.99, which is a limited time offer and will expire on December 31, 2024. After the expiration date, the installation fee will return to its normal price of $99.99. To access the Surge Protection Plus program’s Terms and Conditions, visit dteenergy.com/sppterms.
and of course that URL is hyperlinked with a big long tracking string on the end of it so I won't be sharing it
I appreciate your question, it is nice to see things from a different perspective. My generator is definitely a luxury that hopefully can remain off. Most utilities focus on uptime and this generator ad is a weird cash grab by preying on people’s fear. My local natural gas company did a similar thing where they strongly encouraged us to buy buried pipe damage coverage through them. If a pipe is damaged on your property then you have to pay a contractor to fix it.
American suburbia is an odd thing. The core metro is usually well planned and stays online due to buried cables. However, a lot of old suburbs were built with overhead lines. Then expansion never slowed down and the cities grew around the old suburbs. Many of the modern suburbs now have underground power, but even they may be fed by overhead poles outside the community. However, other parts of America could be different where they have hurricanes or earthquakes regularly.