GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Consumers Energy says it is working around the clock to restore power following strong winds Sunday morning.
About 6,700 Consumers Energy customers remain without power as of 9 p.m. Monday after a windstorm tore through lower Michigan Sunday.
The majority of those customers are expected to be restore by midnight, a news release said Monday.
Those in areas with greater damage should have their power restored by 12 p.m. Tuesday.
More than 85,000 Consumers Energy customers lost power since Sunday morning during the prolonged windstorm.
“Today’s improved weather has greatly aided our restoration efforts, but we’ll continue working around the clock until each customer is restored,” said Guy Packard, Consumers Energy vice president of electric operations. “We are asking everyone to keep safety a top concern and to be aware that wires brought down by high winds could still pose a danger, especially in rural areas frequented by deer hunters.”
As of 10 p.m. Monday, the outage map indicatesabout 6,700 Consumers Energy customers without power, which is down significantly from the 85,000 who lost power to winds that exceeded 50 miles per hour Sunday.
Local outages: (As of 5:45am Monday)
Allegan County: 2,300+ customers
Barry County: 1,000+ customers
Calhoun County: 2,190 customers
Kent County : 1,400 customers
Kalamazoo County: 1,900+ customers
Ottawa County: 700+ customers
More than 700 Consumers Energy employees and contractors are working to restore power, which is expected by noon on Tuesday.
Consumers Energy also urges the public to keep these 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 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.
- 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.
