GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Consumers Energy says they are making progress in restoring power to over 212,000 Michigan homes and businesses affected by severe weather.
As of 5:30 a.m., about 121,000 Consumers Energy customers were still without power. The severe weather, which included high winds, rain, lightning and hail, was responsible for over 2,600 downed power lines and wires in Michigan since Friday night.
Consumers Energy says more than 1,400 employees and contractors are involved to help restore power. That includes 120 employees from energy providers based in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio who arrived in Michigan on Saturday.
“We’re encouraged by the impact that our crews made overnight and into this morning, with power restored to many of our customers who were affected by these violent storms,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations. “We are grateful for the patience of the Michigan residents that we serve, and we’re committed to restoring power to everyone as quickly as we can.”
On Sunday, volunteers from Consumers Energy will be handing out ice and water in Jenison, a community that storms hit especially hard. There are also cooling centers and other resources which can be found here.
Consumers Energy asks that people stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines and follow these safety tips:
- Call 211 if you are looking for help connecting to temporary shelter or other resources that offer assistance in your community.
- 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.
- Be alert to utility 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.
- 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.
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