ANTRIM COUNTY — Linemen from several power companies are working around the clock to restore power after this past weekend’s ice storm.
Consumer’s energy has sent hundreds of crews across the affected areas to restore power, as thousands of customers are still without power since the storm hit.
“We know that folks there, are struggling right now and we’re working to support them in any way that we can.,” says Matt John, Consumer’s Energy, “Sometimes those times might fluctuate depending on what happens when our crews get to a scene and survey the situation and kind of see exactly what the extent is that they’re dealing with.”
Consumer’s Energy has sent around 800 crews across Michigan, 600 of which are from neighboring states. They reported that more than 70% of the 270,000 customers affected have had their power restored either from the ice storms here in the north, or severe weather downstate. With more freezing on the way for us in northern Michigan, Johnson says they are prepared.
“The changing circumstances and the changing weather conditions that are, you know, impacting some of the ability for our crews to get to where they need to be. But we’re there and we’re ready and we’re stationed to get the power back on as soon as we can. But we have to kind of wait for some of that ice to melt up there first so we can really get in. And, you know, some of the areas that, you know, may not even be impacted yet. We’re sort of just waiting for that impact to be able to be there.”
Right now, around 16,000 people in Otsego and Emmet counties have not electricity. In Antrim County there are around 2,500 customers without power. Consumers Energy is hoping to have the power completely restored by the end of the week. Johnson says you can get updates on their website to know the timeline for your home.
“The best way to find the most updated information on your isolated time of restoration is by going to the Consumers Energy Outage map. You can actually also get alerts on your phone if you download our mobile app to see when exactly we expect the power to be restored in your area.”
Consumers Energy is asking people to stay at least 25 feet away from crew members to ensure you and the crew stay safe. Johnson says their priority is making sure people are working to get the power back up and running and resting in between shifts.
Safety is our number one priority. And so, we just got to make sure that our crews are getting rest and getting fed, and getting a break so that they can get back out there and restore power, again as quickly and safely as they can.”
Click here to see the Outage Map.