WEST MICHIGAN (WHTC-AM/FM) — Crews from Consumers Energy, other utilities in Michigan and eight states are continuing Sunday to restore power to about 20,000 Michigan homes and businesses affected by last week’s severe weather, according to a statement emailed to media by Consumers officials.
Almost all customers should have power by the end of the day Sunday, according to the Consumers’ statement, with the final work expected to continue until midday Monday.
At the same time, the utility is also is preparing for the possibility of severe weather that could move into Michigan as early as Tuesday, and is encouraging the public to take steps to be ready.
“More than 2,700 people are involved in effort to bring power back to the homes and businesses we serve in Michigan, and we are confident that most of our customers will be restored by the end of the day today,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations.
Packard went on to urge people to be as prepared as possible for Tuesday’s predicted ice storm, by enrsure they have food, water and other vital supplies should their homes or businesses lose power during severe weather.
He said Consumers crews “will be in place to respond if the weather causes more damage.”
Crews have restored power to over 90 percent of 231,000 customers affected by severe weather that struck Michigan last week. Consumers Energy crews are joined by workers from Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
More than 2,700 people are engaged in the restoration effort, from lineworkers to call center representatives. Consumers Energy 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 also can 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.
Consumers Energy continues to urge the public to keep safety tips in mind:
Be aware of downed electric lines. If you see a downed wire, stay at least 25 feet away. Report it by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
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.
Be alert to utility 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.
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 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.
