A Farmington Hills resident says a Consumers Energy crew dug a hole in his front yard more than a year ago, hauled away the dirt, and never came back to fill it.

David Cavanaugh told WXYZ 7 News Detroit on Wednesday, July 22, that the open pit measures roughly 4 to 5 feet deep and 6 feet wide. Pipes stick out of the ground at the bottom. No one from the utility told him what the work was for or when they planned to return.

"Well, I'm concerned about anybody getting hurt. You got pipes down there sticking out of the ground. If a kid fell in there and hit that," Cavanaugh said. "Months and months and months just keep going by, and I thought I gotta do something about this."

Cavanaugh, who takes pride in his garden and landscaping, said he contacted both the City of Farmington Hills and Consumers Energy repeatedly over the past year without resolution.

Utility responds after media inquiry

WXYZ reporter Whitney Burney reached out to Consumers Energy on Wednesday, July 22. A company spokesperson said the utility would begin looking into the situation, but as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, no timeline for a fix had been provided.

Shortly after the media inquiry, Cavanaugh received a text notification from Consumers Energy acknowledging his complaint and saying the company was taking it seriously. He told WXYZ it was the first substantive response he had received.

Separate dispute over Consumers Energy restoration costs

The Cavanaugh situation is not the only unresolved excavation issue involving Consumers Energy in the Farmington area. In July 2025, the utility dug up a stretch of Shiawassee Road in the City of Farmington to locate a natural gas leak. According to a Farmington City Council packet from an August 18, 2025, special meeting, Consumers Energy agreed to contribute $38,826 toward road restoration on a project the city estimated at $385,451 total. That dispute involved cost-sharing for a public road, not an abandoned residential dig, but it illustrates the difficulty local governments and residents face when seeking restoration after utility work.

How to report unresolved utility work

Residents dealing with property damage from Consumers Energy construction or maintenance can contact the utility's Property Restoration Team. The general customer service line is 800-477-5050, available Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Residents with unresolved complaints may also file a case with the Michigan Public Service Commission, which oversees regulated utilities in the state.