JACKSON – Consumers Energy has restored electric service to over 85 percent of customers who saw powerful storms knock out power this week, making progress toward its goal of completing nearly all restoration work by the end of this weekend.
“All of us at Consumers Energy are grateful for the aid from out-of-state crews, dependable local contractors and our own dedicated field teams who have turned on the lights for 320,000 customers so far following a storm system that left that a trail of destruction across Michigan’s landscape,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations. “We understand how vital electric service is to our customers and are committed to remaining laser-focused on our goal to finish nearly all storm restoration work safely before the weekend is over.”
This storm was one of the 10 most significant in company history. More than 2,000 lineworkers, some from as far away as New York and Missouri, will continue to work 16-hour shifts to finish restoring power to all 370,000 homes and businesses that lost power since Tuesday night. Restoration work could be required on Monday in some of the hardest hit areas that are still clearing up downed wires, fallen trees, and broken poles, and that work will continue 24/7 until all customers are restored.
Consumers Energy has held 17 customer relief and appreciation activities including giveaways of ice, water and ice cream in its hardest hit service territories. More events are planned today in Albion, Bronson, Brooklyn and Flushing.Details can be found at www.Facebook.com/ConsumersEnergyMichigan.
Customers can check the progress crews are making to restore power by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. They 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.
- If traffic lights are out, treat them as a four-way stop and use caution moving through intersections.
- Be aware of possible downed wires. Report them to 9-1-1 or Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 immediately while staying at least 25 feet away.
- If you’ve already reported a downed wire, we appreciate your patience as we work hard to safely secure the remaining incidents. More than 6,000 downed wires have been reported since Tuesday.
- 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 to connect with 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.
