Overnight Storms Knock Out Power; Over 300,000 Consumers Customers Affected Statewide in Two Days of Storms

For Thursday 5:50 PM Update, click here.

(UPDATED August 12, 2021 7:31 AM) Bolstered by crews from seven states, Consumers Energy expects to make progress today in restoring power to over 300,000 Michigan homes and businesses that have been affected by two days of intense storms across the state.  As of 7:30 AM, 22,800 Jackson County customers are without power. 

Winds in excess of 50 MPH were reported by the National Weather Service in Jackson at around 7 AM today as severe thunderstorms moved through the area.

Flood warnings have been issued for Jackson and Ingham Counties as heavy rain continues to fall.  Flood warnings are also in effect in Wayne County and other areas of Southeast Michigan.  Both directions of I-94 near Airport Road were closed with water over the roadway.

“We continue to be grateful for the patience of our friends and neighbors as we work to bring the lights back on,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations. “The storms that have struck our state should finally subside today, and we are confident that over 500 crews from Michigan and across the country will help bring back power to many of our customers.”

Crews worked through the night as storms continued to move through Michigan. In addition to Consumers Energy crews and others from Michigan, lineworkers today are joining the effort from seven states, including New York, Tennessee and Missouri.

About 215,000 Consumers Energy customers were without power as of 5:30 a.m. In all, over 90,000 homes and businesses have had electric service restored. 

Storms earlier this week were responsible for more than 200,000 Consumers customers losing power in Central and Northern Michigan.  Last night and this morning, new rounds of storms affected Consumers and DTE Energy customers throughout the state, primarily in Jackson, Hillsdale, and Branch Counties.  As of 11 p.m. Wednesday night, about 383,000 DTE customers were without power.

Customers can report an outage and check the status of outage 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.

“This is around-the-clock work, and we won’t stop until we restore power to our fellow Michiganders,” Packard said.

Consumers Energy also shares these important 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. 
• 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.