PRESS RELEASE (WHTC-AM/FM) — Winds in excess of 50 mph have cut power to nearly 76,000 Consumers Energy customers since Sunday morning. Damage assessment and restoration is underway in response to the statewide storm that caused considerable damage.
“We have been tracking this wind storm for several days and we have the necessary crews in place to assess damage, make repairs and restore power,” said Gregory Salisbury, Consumers Energy vice president of gas engineering. “We expect weather conditions to improve overnight, which will assist with restoration. We appreciate our customers’ patience as we put the safety of our crews and the public first.”
From lineworkers to dispatchers and customer service representatives, more than 700 Consumers Energy employees and contractors are engaged in the restoration effort. Continued high winds through Sunday evening will make it difficult for some restoration work to proceed because of dangers posed by the weather.
More than 75,700 customers have lost power since the winds picked up at 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. As of 5 p.m. , about 55,200 customers were still without power.
Consumers Energy expects restoration work will continue through late Tuesday or early Wednesday for most of the affected customers.
Customers can report an outage, check the status of an outage and get useful tips what to do after a storm by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. Customers 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.
Salisbury urged customers and the public to stay at least 25 feet away from downed wires, keep children or pets away, and report the issue by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at (800) 477-5050. Consumers Energy crews are taking extra health and safety precautions because of the COVID-19 situation and asks the public to keep at least six feet of distance from its crews.
Consumers Energy officials also urges the public to keep these important safety tips in mind:
- 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 if you are looking for help connecting to temporary shelter or other resources that offer assistance in your community. 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.
Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), 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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