Friday Morning Consumers Storm Update: 100,000 to Go

JTV Photo by Rachel Kurowski

Consumers Energy employees, contractors and mutual assistance crews from six states worked steadily throughout the night to restore electric service to customers who lost power as a result of destructive wind storms that occurred earlier this week.

The vast majority of customers without electric service should have power restored by midnight Saturday. In some of the hardest areas, including portions of Genesee, Kent and Kalamazoo counties, restoration work will continue into Sunday. As of 4 a.m., approximately 100,000 customers remained without power.

“The sheer devastation this storm brought to our state makes this a multi-day restoration effort, and our crews will be working day and night so that all customers have service again,” said Guy Packard, vice president of electric operations. “Until that is accomplished we encourage customers to look out for family, friends and neighbors who are currently without power, particularly the elderly or infirmed. Those who need a warming shelter or other assistance should call 2-1-1 to be connected to services.”

Because of power outages, the following school districts are closed on Friday:

From lineworkers to damage assessors, wire guards and customer service representatives, more than 2,000 people are engaged in electric restoration activities. An additional 181 crews from utilities in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana are assisting Consumers Energy crews in this effort.

Customers can 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. Customers can also, report an outage, check the status of an outage and get useful tips what to do before, during and after a storm by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter.

The public is urged to make these safety tips a top priority:

• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines. Call 911 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 to report.
• 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.
• Operating a generator may produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas. Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement or near any air intakes, and never fuel a generator when it is running.
• Customers concerned about staying in their home during the colder temperatures are encouraged to call 2-1-1. Local emergency management officials are collecting information from 2-1-1 centers to help determine if warming centers need to be opened. 

To view specific counties and regions most affected by electric interruptions, please visit: https://www.consumersenergy.com/outagemap