Consumers Energy Approaches Halfway Mark in Returning Power to Customers after Michigan Storms

JACKSON, Mich., Aug. 12, 2021 -- Consumers Energy crews plus contractors from Michigan and seven other states are nearing the halfway mark late Thursday in their all-hands-on-deck push to restore power to over 371,000 homes and businesses affected by this week’s severe weather.

Over 550 three- and four-person crews remain at work around the clock and will work through the night heading into Friday. Their goal: Restore power to most homes and businesses by late Saturday night and finish almost all of their work by the end of the weekend.

As of 9:45 p.m. Thursday, about 187,000 customers remained without power – the result of a storm system over three days that brought down trees, damaged equipment and downed 4,500 wires.

“This has been a busy week for our lineworkers and those who have joined us from as far away as New York and Missouri. We’re encouraged to see their progress and plan to keep up the pace to get the lights back on,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations. “We are grateful for the patience of our friends and neighbors, and want them to know we won’t stop working until this restoration effort is complete.”

Consumers Energy is sponsoring several free community events and giveaways across the state to thank residents. On Friday and Saturday, Consumers Energy also will cover entry costs for the first 2,500 visitors to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. Events can be found at www.Facebook.com/ConsumersEnergyMichigan.

Customers can report an outage and check the latest status of outages 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 offered these public safety tips:

• People should continue 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. The storms generated more than 4,500 reports of downed wires.
• 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.