JACKSON, Mich. — Consumers Energy said they are making their final push to restore power to the remaining homes and businesses that lost power from the weekend winter storm.
The utility company says they have restored power to over 180,000 customers in Michigan since the storm.
As of 11:45 a.m. on Monday, only 2,154 customers are still experiencing outages, with about half of those remaining outages in Allegan and Midland counties. You can see where the outages are located here.
Around 1,200 customers are still without power along the lakeshore in Muskegon, Ottawa and Allegan counties. Most of those outages are estimated to be restored by the late afternoon on Monday.
Consumers Energy said that they had around 500 crews working on restoration efforts Sunday afternoon, including crews assisting from nine different states.
“We are humbled by the generosity and patience our friends and neighbors display in times like this, and we’re determined to continue working around the clock until we finish restoring power to everyone,” said Melissa Gleespen, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge of restoration. “Over 500 crews have been working through the weekend, and we’ll be continuing our push through the night to resolve some of the most challenging damage and get the lights back on.”
In case of an outage:
- Charge all electronic devices. It’s advised to have an emergency battery or charging station available for use during an outage.
- Have an emergency kit that includes flashlights and extra batteries, water, canned food and blankets. Be prepared with enough medication, baby supplies and pet food if applicable. A battery-operated radio is also a good idea.
- Unplug sensitive electronics like TVs, computers and printers. Turn power strips off.
- Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:
- Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and to report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
- 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. Read more guidance on safe generator use here.
- 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 that holds the electric service wires to a 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.
Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
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