Consumers Energy: Ice storm brought down more than 8,000 power lines
Thousands of consumers energy customers remain without power tonight. Two days after the ice storm hit Michigan, the company is cruise working. They say around the clock trying to restore power today. They said they've restored about a third of those impacted 13 on your side. Keely Leveran joined us now live. Keely consumers is calling this storm historic. They certainly are Juliet and we can all attest to that it was very icy and for some Michiganders they still haven't got in their power back yet, but consumers energy says they're reassuring all of their customers that they're working as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
This storm was unusual. Ice has taken down over 8000 lines. That's an exceptional number. Some of the highest that we've seen in recent years. Consumers energy says they plan well in advance for any significant storms, but ice is a factor that makes things more difficult. The nature of an ice storm is challenging because the outages tend to be smaller and much more numerous. We have about 50,000 miles of overhead lines that are involved in a storm like this.
This is an all hands event for us. Every one of our line workers across the state of Michigan is actively deployed working to restore customers. Consumer says the storm caused more than 250,000 homes and businesses to lose power. By Friday afternoon, they say they've been able to restore about a third of that. A lot of the restoration effort is going to be removing dangerous trees and limbs from the lines, fixing small pieces of the grid and splicing wires back together. Consumer says they have over 500 line crews or about 1500 people currently working out in the hardest hit areas. Plus they've brought in more than 100 crews from out of state.
So our crews are trained. They're ready to make sure that we're serving the communities in which we live in and which we provide power to. Now consumers energy says they do expect the majority of customers to have their power back on by Sunday evening at the very latest by Monday and they are telling customers if you're without power or you need any resources, you can call 211. They can get you all the questions answered that you have and find you warming centers if that's something you and your family might need. Reporting live in Grand Rapids, Keely Lover 13 on your side.
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