Over 100,000 Affected by High Winds; Safety Critical as Work Continues
4:30 PM Update: Crews Surpass Halfway Point in Electric Restoration Work
JACKSON, Mich., Dec. 5, 2017 – Consumers Energy employees and contractors are at work across the Lower Peninsula this morning following severe storms overnight that affected over 100,000 homes and businesses.
Restoration efforts are continuing, with over 1,200 employees and contract workers involved to safely restore power and help customers. Consumers Energy is working to restore power to all affected customers by 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
As of 11 a.m., about 65,000 homes and businesses that Consumers Energy serves were without power. Most of the Consumers Energy customers that have lost power live in Northern Michigan.
“We appreciate the patience of our customers as we work to restore power quickly and safely today,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations. “We encourage the public to be safe and watch for crews working along roads, especially with the possibility of wind gusts today that could cause more outages.”
(The 4:30pm Tuesday update to this story!)
Restoration efforts are continuing, with over 1,200 employees and contract workers involved to safely restore power and help customers. Consumers Energy is working to restore power to all affected customers by 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
As of 11 a.m., about 65,000 homes and businesses that Consumers Energy serves were without power. Most of the Consumers Energy customers that have lost power live in Northern Michigan.
“We appreciate the patience of our customers as we work to restore power quickly and safely today,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations. “We encourage the public to be safe and watch for crews working along roads, especially with the possibility of wind gusts today that could cause more outages.”
To view specific counties and regions most affected by electric interruptions, visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageMap.
The public’s safety is paramount as restoration work continues. Consumers Energy reminds everyone:
• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines. Call 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050 to report downed wires.
• Operating a generator may produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas. Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement or near any air intakes, and never fuel a generator when it is running.
• Be alert to crews working along roads and “slow down and go around.” Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear then safely pass workers on roadsides.
• Customers 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. Customers can also report an outage, check the status of an outage and get useful tips what to do before, during and after a storm by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter.
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The next storm update news release will be at approximately 4:30 p.m.
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Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com.
