Got Power?

 From our friends at CE

JACKSON, Mich., Aug. 11, 2021 -- Consumers Energy crews are starting to restore power this morning to over 200,000 homes and businesses after a fast-moving storm brought high winds and caused major damage across Michigan late Tuesday night.

“Mother Nature delivered a powerful punch to Michigan. Now, Consumers Energy’s crews will be working to repair damage and restore power to customers who count on us,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s vice president for electric operations. “Our crews will be working around the clock this week to turn the lights back on for everyone who was affected by this devastating storm.”

Severe weather started hitting West and Northern Michigan after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Winds reportedly as high as 70 mph knocked down trees, limbs and power lines. Crews started assessing damage and restoring power overnight, and their work likely will continue through the week.

Customers can report an outage and check the status of outage 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.

“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to restore power as quickly and safely as we can,” Packard said. “We also are watching for the prospect of more storms later tonight and we encourage people to take steps to stay safe and be ready for the possibility of additional power outages.”

Packard urged people to stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, keep children or pets away, and report the issue by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Consumers Energy asks the public to keep a safe distance from crews due to health precautions and to allow them to do their work.
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Consumers Energy also asks the public to keep 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 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.

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