Severe Weather - WKTV Journal

Historic storms brought ice accumulation in northern Michigan and nine confirmed tornadoes to southern Michigan, impacting more than 390,000 Consumers Energy customers (Courtesy, Consumers Energy)

By WKTV Staff

Consumers Energy officials are thanking customers for their patience and understanding as crews from Michigan and neighboring states finish restoring power to the last remaining customers impacted earlier this week.

The historic storms brought ice accumulation in northern Michigan and nine confirmed tornadoes to southern Michigan, impacting more than 390,000 customers.

Consumers Energy crews worked around the clock in difficult conditions to safely and efficiently restore power. While they are nearing the end of our restoration efforts, crews can still be seen throughout the community.

Some crews are being redeployed to assist in other areas still recovering from the storm while others will remain in the region to clean up debris. In the following weeks, crews will work to remove the downed poles, wires and other materials used during restoration.

Consumers Energy asks residents to be aware during the clean-up process; never approach any downed wires or damaged equipment, and allow crews the space they need to work safely.

A show of support

“We are incredibly proud of our crews and support teams who responded swiftly and tirelessly during this critical time,” said Norm Kapala, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge for restoration. “We know how important reliable power is to our customers, and we thank them for their patience as we worked to bring everyone back online.”

Throughout the restoration, crews were also deeply moved by the support shown by the communities. In Pellston — the “Ice Box of the Nation” — hearts were anything but cold. When more than 100 crews stopped by the Pellston General Store, they were told: “It’s on us.”

“When we arrived and set up our command center, there was no electricity, no water and no food available,” said Andy Snider, Executive Director of Electric Operations. “This establishment really opened its doors to help our crews out. The support they’ve offered helped us expedite restoration.”

Pellston General Store Director Nate Hendricks said he was happy to help. “These crews are away from their families helping us get back in business and getting everyone’s power back. We want to pay it forward.”

Consumers Energy says they are grateful for this incredible example of community spirit — and for every neighbor, business and local partner who supported their crews throughout this storm.

Continued improvement

Customers will also see crews throughout the year as Consumers pushes forward in their efforts to improve as outlined in the Reliability Roadmap.

As weather events grow more frequent and severe, investing in a stronger, more resilient electric grid is essential. They are continuing to upgrade infrastructure, trim trees, replace aging equipment and implement smart technologies to better withstand future storms and reduce outage times.

(Courtesy, Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce)

Important safety tips

Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

Be alert to crews working along the roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past workers on roadsides.
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.
Residents can also utilize the Michigan 211 website for the most up to date information on warming shelters in their area.

Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of Michigan’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

Consumers Energy has approximately 900 crews engaged in the final restoration efforts for customers impacted by recent severe weather (Courtesy, Consumers Energy)

By WKTV Staff

deborah@wktv.org

Consumers Energy has approximately 900 crews engaged in the final restoration efforts for customers impacted by severe ice and thunderstorms that pummeled massive swaths of the northern and southern portions of the state in the past week.

In addition to the hundreds of thousands who lost power over the weekend due to the first series of storms — which brought historic ice accumulation in the north and nine confirmed tornadoes in the south — 47,000 additional customers lost power on Wednesday afternoon and evening due to high winds from another storm system crossing the state.

Of the around 350,000 customers impacted by the storm events, nearly 90% have already been restored.

“This has been one of the most significant storm events in our company’s history, yet just as significant has been the response from our lineworkers,” said Chris Fultz, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge of restoration.

“Throughout this restoration effort we have continually added more crews to our system, and have an historic, dedicated team committed to working around the clock until every last customer has the lights back on.”

To thank customers for their understanding, Consumers Energy is working with local first responders and law enforcement in Crawford, Otsego, Oscoda and Alcona counties to provide free water throughout the day today to those impacted by the storms.

Important safety tips

Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

Be alert to crews working along the roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past workers on roadsides.
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.
Residents can also utilize the Michigan 211 website for the most up to date information on warming shelters in their area.

Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.