Consumers Energy Crews Work to Restore Most Customers’ Power Today After Winter Storm Strikes Michigan

Jackson, Mich. Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Energy Provider Also Monitoring Expected Heavy Snow, Winds This Weekend

Over 230 Consumers Energy and contractor crews continue working around the clock to restore power to most customers affected by this week’s winter weather system by the end of today.

As of 11 a.m. today, Consumers Energy had restored power to nearly 30,000 percent of the roughly 65,000 homes and businesses that suffered outages caused by winter weather late Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Today is a critical day in our restoration process as we work to safely restore power to customers affected by this week’s winter storm,” said Melissa Gleespen, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge of restoration. “We’re working to ensure most customers will finish today with power. We’re also monitoring a late-week storm system expected to bring heavy snow and strong winds over the weekend. I thank our customers and communities for their patience as we continue working around the clock.”

Consumers Energy is monitoring a second strong storm system expected to bring several inches of widespread snow and strong winds to many areas Friday and Saturday.

Customers can continue to check the status of outages at 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.

Gleespen urged people to 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.

Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and to report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
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 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

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Media Contact: Brian Wheeler, 517-740-1545 or brian.wheeler@cmsenergy.com

The next news release is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.