WALKER, Michigan — Consumers Energy officials are expecting power outage numbers to remain low during Friday's snowy weather.
"Since last Wednesday, we've been really busy," Spokesperson Terry Dedoes says.
Over the last week and a half, two ice storms in West Michigan had electrical crews working around the clock to restore power to more than 400,000 customers.
"Ice is the worst on the electric system. That is the biggest nemesis for causing outages. It causes a lot of damage. It requires a lot of rebuilding. And it hampers our ability to travel to get out and get to those sites. It takes down a lot of trees that need to be cleared before we can even access our electric equipment to make repairs," Dedoes says.
But as for this storm, he's not anticipating catastrophic levels of outages in our area.
"With heavy snow, you always have to prepare for the possibility of outages and there will be some high winds. So we are anticipating that there will be some customers impacted by the storm, just nothing to the extent of what we've seen in the last week," Dedoes says.
The snow combined with high winds could mean power outages for some customers though, and he says it's important that people make sure to keep their cell phones charged and keep plenty of food, water and medicine on hand.
Dedoes is also urging people to be safe around any downed power lines by staying at least 25 feet away.
"Be sure to report those. The easiest number to remember is 911. And if you can reach out and let Consumers Energy know, that is great as well," he says.
Unlike last week, Consumers Energy does not have crews from other states on standby to respond. But if outages exceed their expectations, they will make that call to bring in more help.
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