Severe Storms Strike Michigan, Consumers Energy Mobilizing Crews to Begin Restoration

Jackson, Mich. Wednesday, August 03, 2022

Consumers Energy has started mobilizing crews and are waiting for the severe weather to leave our state after strong thunderstorms and powerful wind gusts caused over 84,000 homes and businesses to lose power this afternoon. Winds that topped 60 mph swept across Michigan this afternoon and more rainy weather is expected overnight. The energy provider has begun damage assessment and will soon determine when power will be restored to homes and businesses.

“We were prepared for the strong storms to hit our state and had crews in place to begin restoration as soon as it was safe to do so,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy’s Officer In Charge for today’s power restoration work. “We appreciate the patience of our friends and neighbors, and we are committed to working around the clock to get the lights back on for everyone who counts on us as quickly as we can.”

Nearly 150 Consumers Energy and contractor crews are currently working to assess damage and restore power in Genesee, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Barry, Jackson and Calhoun counties.

Crews are working even as more winds and rain continue to hit the state. Restoration times can vary depending on changing weather conditions. Customers can report an outage and check the status of outage by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. They 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.

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

“Please be cautious of fallen debris, downed wires and trees and our crews that are out in the community working to restore power,” said Packard.

Consumers Energy urges 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. Read more guidance on safe generator use here.
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 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, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

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Media should call 1-800-557-4625 to reach a Consumers Energy Media Relations representative 24/7.

The next news release is scheduled for 6 a.m. Thursday, August 4.

For more information about Consumers Energy, go to ConsumersEnergy.com.