Consumers Energy: 215,000 Customers Power Restored

Consumers Energy Outage Map 8 AM Friday

 (August 13, 2021 8:22 AM) Consumers Energy has now restored power to 215,000 Michigan homes and businesses following this week’s severe weather, and crews today are continuing their around-the-clock work in communities all over the Lower Peninsula.

“Around 2,000 lineworkers are fanning out across Michigan today – we are serious when we say we’re committed to getting the lights back on for the communities we serve quickly and safely,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations. “We are grateful for our customers’ patience and want them to know we’re putting in an all-out effort until the power is back on for everyone.”

Consumers Energy crews are joined by contractors from across Michigan and seven states, including as far away as Missouri, New York and Tennessee. As of 8 a.m., about 157,000 customers were without power. In all, over 375,000 homes and businesses that Consumers Energy serves lost power at some point since Tuesday night, making it one of the 10 most significant storms in company history.

Consumers Energy aims to restore power to most homes and businesses by late Saturday night and finish almost all of the restoration work by the end of the weekend.

Consumers Energy is reaching out to communities across Michigan today, sponsoring several free community events and giveaways to thank residents. Today and Saturday, Consumers Energy will cover entry costs for the first 2,500 visitors to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. Events can be found at www.Facebook.com/ConsumersEnergyMichigan. 

Customers can check the progress crews are making to restore power by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. They can also sign up to get outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email or text message — text ‘REG’ to 232273 or visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/alerts.

Consumers Energy makes safety a top priority for coworkers and the public, and is offering these tips:

• Be alert to crews working along roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they safely can go past workers on roadsides.
• Call 2-1-1 to connect with resources that offer assistance in your community, such as cooling centers or other needs. 2-1-1 is a free statewide service.
• Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas.
• Be aware of possible downed wires. Report them to 9-1-1 or Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 immediately while staying at least 25 feet away.
• Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
• In some cases, the mast which holds the electric service wires to a customer’s home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.

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