KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Heavy storms as remnants of Tropical Storm Cristobal rocked Michigan across the state this week, resulting in thousands of downed power lines and trees.
As of 9 a.m. Thursday, over 144,000 Consumers Energy customers were still without power statewide.
“Our crews have been able to work safely and efficiently all night, restoring power to over 90,000 homes and businesses since Tuesday. With better weather in the forecast, we expect to continue making progress today,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations in a written statement Thursday morning.
In another press release from Indiana Michigan Power, as of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, crews estimated that they would still be working into Thursday morning to repair service to all of their customers, around 600 of which were in Michigan.
The company stated that about 18,000 of its customers had lost power in total. However, despite the Thursday morning estimate, the company also expects that nearly all customers affected by the wind storm Tuesday night will be restored by 11 p.m. Wednesday.
As of Thursday morning over 2,000 customers were affected in Kalamazoo County, which seems like nothing compared to the over 30,000 in Calhoun County. Battle Creek and parts of Mid-Michigan were hit exceptionally hard. Battle Creek even suffered transit disruptions from downed trees and wires.
Consumers Energy says storms with 70 mph winds tore through Lower Michigan in the past two days.This brought down 4,000 wires across the state and created 2,500 tree hazards within the utility company’s service territory.
Over 230 Consumers Energy employee and contractor crews are working to help customers affected by the storms.
Meanwhile, both Consumers and Indiana Michigan Power are warning citizens to stay away from any downed power lines and to call their hotlines if any are damaged.
Citizens should always stay at least 25 feet away from a downed wire and anything it is touching. Residents should report downed wires by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
Indiana Michigan Power can be contacted at 800-311-4634.
They add that everyone should always assume a downed wire is energized, even if it is not sparking.
Customers are also reminded, if they lose power, to 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.
Portable generators should be operated 25 feet outside of any building, away from windows, doors and vents.
Customers can visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter to keep track of how far along power restoration is.
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Consumers Energy has also released a list of tips to keep customers safe during an outage:
- 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 temporary shelter or other 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.
