HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Saturday’s high winds — which peaked at 58 mph, according to National Weather Service notes — knocked out power to more than 150,000 Consumers Energy customers..
“In total, with today’s favorable weather, our tireless crews have been able to restore power to more than 105,000 customers, but we have more work to do. We are so grateful for our customers’ patience, and these community events are just a small way to thank them as our crews work to get our customers back up and running,” said Melissa Gleespen, one of Consumers Energy’s officers in charge for the storm event.
The hardest hit areas in Michigan include: Midland, Flint, Carson City, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Alma and Ionia. Consumers officials indicated the storm’s wreckage includes 192 broken utility poles, and damage to more than 2,200 power lines.
Consumers deployed 370 crews, including 50 mutual assistance crews, storm trailers, and mobile command centers to work on repairs.
Customers can report outage and check repair status by visiting ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter as well as sign up for outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email or text message by texting ‘REG’ to 232273 or visiting ConsumersEnergy.com/alerts.
People who see downed power lines should stay at least 25 feet away, keep children or pets away, and calling 911 to alert authorities and Consumers Energy at (800) 477-5050.
Consumers Energy is also asking people to keep a safe distance from repair crews as a health precaution and for drivers to give the crews plenty of room for safety’s sake.
Other key points:
- 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.
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