Consumers Energy Restores Power to 130,000; On Target to Restore 100,000 More by Tomorrow Afternoon

(UPDATED August 12, 2021 5:52 PM) Consumers Energy crews and contractors along with crews from seven states have restored power to more than 130,000 customers in the wake of three waves of this week’s severe storm system in Michigan that brought down trees, damaged poles, downed 4,500 wires and knocked out service to more than 369,000 electric customers since Tuesday night.

“These three days of storm activity ranks among the top 10 storms in our company’s 135-year history,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations. “I could not be more impressed by the patience shown by our customers affected by these damaging waves of storms, and I want them to know we will not stop working extended shifts day and night until our restoration is complete and the lights are back on for every one of our customers.”

A majority of 230,000 customers without electric service as of 4 p.m. are expected to be restored by late Saturday night with storm restoration efforts continuing through the weekend. Additional storm activity could extend restoration times. As of 5:50 PM, 22,200 Jackson County customers are without power.  Consumers Energy spokesman Brian Wheeler told JTV News restoration will be continuing into Sunday for some.  

The National Weather Service says more storms are possible overnight Thursday and into Friday.  An isolated strong to severe thunderstorm is possible this evening and overnight as storms form along a cold front moving southeast through Lower Michigan. The main threat will be for isolated damaging winds.

A flood warning and flood advisory, in effect this morning for Jackson County have expired.  However, water levels will be elevated on area rivers through the weekend.  3.8” of rainfall was recorded at Jackson County Airport between 7 PM Wednesday and 12 PM on Thursday.  Wind gusts of 51 MPH were recorded at the airport during the early morning round of storms today.

Throughout the day, work crews from the City of Jackson, Jackson County Department of Transportation and Michigan Department of Transportation, along with township crews, cleared area streets of storm debris, downed tree limbs, and standing water.  As of late this afternoon, some roadways in Jackson County remain flooded, including Boardman Road near Jackson County.  For several hours this morning, I-94 near Airport Road was closed due to water on the roadway.

DTE Energy reports more than 585,000 of their customers, mainly in Southeast Michigan are still without power as of 5 PM, and several roadways and freeways remain flooded in Metro Detroit.

Consumers Energy is also sponsoring free community events and giveaways across the state to thank residents impacted by the storms. Events will continue to be planned in the coming days and can be found at www.Faceboom.com/ConsumersEnergyMichigan. 

Customers can report an outage and check the latest status of outages by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. Customers 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.

The out-of-state crews are from Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, Indiana, and Iowa. In total, more than 550 crews are working on Consumers Energy’s system to make repairs and restore customers’ power.

“Safety remains the number one focus for our crews and customers,” said Packard, who offered these public safety tips:

• Those clearing storm debris are advised to be aware of possible downed wires and report them to 9-1-1 or Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 immediately while staying at least 25 feet away. The storms generated more than 4,500 reports of downed wires.
• 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 if you are looking for help connecting to 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.
• 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.