While it will be of little comfort to those still struggling with the loss of power dating back to Monday night, the team at Indiana Michigan Power reports this morning that they have now restored power to about 98-percent of the approximately 52,000 customers whose service was disrupted by a powerful derecho storm on Monday evening. A large contingent of crews continues to restore power to those who remain without service in the rural areas around Benton Harbor.
In the past 24 hours, I&M restored power to more than 8,500 Benton Harbor area customers, however, about 1,450 remain to be restored.
All areas of the largest individual outages – each involving more than 250 customers – have been restored. Many of the remaining outages involve single customers in rural areas, so I&M crews say that the outage count is not likely to drop as quickly today.
Crews will be working in smaller neighborhoods, side streets and backyards, so residents are asked to please keep pets secured and away from those work areas.
I&M will continue to restore power throughout today and into Friday, as needed.
I&M expects to restore power to all of the Benton Harbor area customers who lost service as a result of the storm by 11 pm tomorrow, Friday, August 14th. That is when the last customers are expected to be restored. Power to most customers will be restored before then. Earlier times of restoration are being established as individual outages are assessed and crews assigned.
Customers who sign up for mobile alerts or check the online outage map may find earlier times have been entered by crews assigned to specific outages.
STAY INFORMED
I&M encourages customers to use the Indiana Michigan Power app to monitor the status of any outage affecting your home or business. http://IndianaMichiganPower.com/App
You can sign up for text and email alerts on the app or at the link below:
http://IndianaMichiganPower.com/Alerts
See the location and status of outages using the outage map at this link:
http://IndianaMichiganPower.com/OutageMap
For the latest updates you can follow Indiana Michigan Power on Facebook and find them on Twitter @IN_MI_Power
SAFETY INFORMATION
I&M reminds customers and the general public of the possible dangers in the wake of the storm:
- Downed power lines. Stay away from any downed wires and report them to I&M. You can call in to 800-311-4634, report on their app or website, or call 911. Downed wires may be hidden by limbs and debris or touching a fence, so look carefully before cleaning up after the storm.
- Trees could fall or drop limbs at any moment, please look up. Even after the storm subsided, damaged trees, branches and limbs could still fall.
- Traffic lights may not be functioning. Please use caution and be mindful of first responders and utility workers on the roadways.
