Strong Winds Sweep Michigan; Consumers Crews Begin Power Restoration

(December 11, 2021 11:13 AM) Consumers Energy is responding with all hands on deck to a severe storm featuring high winds over 55 miles per hour which swept quickly through Michigan Saturday morning causing damage across West Michigan and into mid-Michigan while knocking out power to over 108,000 Consumers Energy customers. Crews are assessing the damage already caused and getting lineworkers in place for restoration once the storm system ends.

“Mother Nature once again caused severe damage across the state,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations. “We are mobilizing crews and stationing them in our hardest hit areas to begin damage assessment and restoration work once the winds die down.”

Severe weather started hitting West Michigan and the lakeshore this morning and continue to sweep through mid-Michigan. Winds reportedly over 55 mph knocked down trees, limbs and power lines.

A majority of affected customers are expected to be restored by the end of the day Sunday. 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.

Packard urged people to stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, keep children or pets away, and report the issue by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Consumers Energy asks the public to keep a safe distance from crews due to health precautions and to allow them to do their work.

Consumers Energy also asks the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

• 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. 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.