UNDATED (WKZO AM/FM) — If all goes as planned, the few hundred still in the dark in Kalamazoo County and the few thousand in neighboring counties will get their power back by Saturday at Midnight with just scattered outages in rural isolated areas affecting only a few people left to finish off on Sunday.
Consumers Energy Senior Vice President for Customer Operations says they remain on schedule despite the deteriorating weather conditions.
Garrick Rochow says about a fourth of their line and tree crews are now from out of state working 16-hour shifts.
The Utility says the installation of Smart Meters has helped them speed up repairs because they had a lot better handle on where the outages occurred and where manpower and resources would be needed.
There are very few warming centers set up in West Michigan to help those who can’t afford a motel or a generator. While Jackson County has six set up, there are none in Kalamazoo.
Pennfield High in Battle Creek has set up a 24 hours shelter, and a warm up shelter has been set up at the Albion Library at 501 S. Superior St. from 1pm to 8pm Saturday and Sunday.
The Yankee Springs Fire Department in Barry County will be providing a warming shelter at 1425 Payne Lake Rd, in Wayland.
