Utilities work to restore power as late winter storm pummels Northern Michigan

From staff reports

The snow is falling fast and furious. Schools and businesses are closed. Northern Michiganders are arming themselves once more with shovels, snowplows and snowblowers. St. Patrick’s Day may be tomorrow, the Spring Equinox may be on Friday, but Old Man Winter is not yet finished with us.

Nevertheless, the feared ice storm and threat of mass power outages that meteorologists warned us about appears not to have materialized—at least not in Leelanau County.

As of Monday afternoon, March 16, Consumers Energy reports that 339 customers in Leelanau County are without power.

“We project we’ll restore power by 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday),”  Consumers media relations specialist Brian Wheeler told the Sun.

Region-wide, Consumers reports 1,021 outages—most of those in the middle or eastern part of the mitten—leaving more than 95 percent of customers with power. Click here to view Consumers’ outage map.

Meanwhile, Cherryland Electric Cooperative reports no current outages in Leelanau County, but about 370 outages down in Manistee County. View Cherryland’s outage map here.

“We are making great progress!” reported Cherryland at noon today. “The wind has died down and it’s allowing line crews to work more efficiently. That’s not to say it’s a walk in the park out there—messy roads and ice are still slowing things down.

“While the wind is giving us a break right now—we are expecting it to pick up again later this afternoon and into the evening. Because there is a coat of ice on many of the trees, it’s possible that could lead to additional outages.”

Cherryland plans to offer another update at 4 pm.

Consumers has crews in place

Consumers Energy issued the following news release late this morning. Consumers 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.

Consumers Energy already has crews, equipment, and support resources in place across Northern Michigan as communities recover from snow and ice over the last 24 hours. With high winds expected to continue, the company anticipates additional outages and understands those conditions can impact restoration efforts. Crews are actively working to secure the electric grid, assess damage, and continue restoration, while additional resources are being deployed to strengthen the response.  

Mobile storm units carrying equipment for lineworkers were pre-staged in northern Michigan and are now on their way to Houghton Lake and Alcona County, two areas where storms caused power outages reinforcing crews already on the ground and helping further secure the grid in hard‑hit areas. At the same time, Consumers Energy has staged over 540 crews with additional crews on the way to Michigan to restore power in the region and across the Lower Peninsula as high winds continue to impact the state throughout today. 

“We know Michiganders stand tall against severe weather, and we’re working 24/7 to help our friends and neighbors withstand this ongoing storm,” said Jean Kang, one of Consumers Energy’s officers in charge for this storm response. “We want our friends and neighbors to know we’re here for them today and this week. Our teams are already in the field securing the grid and we will not finish until the lights are back on for everyone.” 

Consumers Energy crews and equipment are already working in some of the hardest‑hit communities, focusing first on securing the grid, preventing further damage, and restoring power as quickly and safely as possible. Lineworkers will work around the clock in 16-hour shifts to respond to outages in Northern Michigan and statewide.  

Consumers Energy emphasized that safety remains the #1 priority for customers, communities and crews. Work will be carried out carefully amid challenging conditions statewide, including downed trees, damaged equipment and today’s high winds. 

Consumers Energy urges neighbors to pay attention to travel advisories and not travel unless needed. 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.  

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 can go safely past.  

• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Consumers Energy reminds people that falsely calling in downed lines actually slows down the restoration process for everyone.  

• 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, cleanup 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.