BWL restores power to thousands. Here’s how many remain without power Sunday morning

• Over 2,000 Lansing BWL customers remain without power after Thursday’s storms.
• BWL has restored power to over 85% of affected customers, with crews working continuously.
• Eight tornadoes were confirmed across Michigan as a result of the storms.

LANSING — More than 2,000 electric customers remain without power in the Lansing Board of Water & Light coverage area as of Sunday, May 18, according to the company’s outage map.

BWL said it had restored power to more than 85% of customers who lost service following Thursday night’s tornado and thunderstorm by Saturday night. About 3,800 customers were without power at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

“Crews continue to work around the clock to get power restored as quickly and safely as possible,” the utility said.

“We’ve not seen this much damage to our transmission and distribution system in nearly 25 years,” BWL General Manager Dick Peffley said in a release. “We’ve got all the right people working on restorations, it’s just going to take time to clear through some of the damage. We still expect to meet our goal of 90% restoration by the end of today. We appreciate our customers’ continued patience while we work to get their power back on.”

More than 60 BWL and mutual aid line and tree crews were working across the BWL service territory to address approximately 188 downed wires, more than 60 broken poles and about 80 tree-related service requests, the utility said.

BWL initially reported about 32,000 customers had lost power because of thunderstorms and a confirmed EF1 tornado that struck southwest of Lansing overnight May 15-16.

The outages were part of a much wider power disruption that affected most of southwest Michigan. More than 260,000 customers served by multiple power companies lost power after storms that produced eight confirmed tornadoes swept across Michigan.

As of Sunday morning, more than 50,000 electric customers — 15,700 in Kalamazoo County alone — remained without power across Michigan.

In Eaton County, about 3,600 Consumers Energy customers are without power. In Ingham County, about 1,500 are without power, 77 in Clinton County and 129 in Ionia County.

Do BWL customers need to prep for power restoration?

Customers who have experienced an outage due to mast damage must have their mast repaired by a licensed electrician before the BWL is able to restore power, the utility said. 

Masts are owned by customers, not the BWL, but customers may still use any of the BWL approved electrical contractors to have repairs made and payments financed interest-free for 12 months. 

Are downed lines dangerous?

BWL urges people to stay at least 25 feet from downed lines, and treat intersections with traffic signals out as 4-way stops.

How can I check the status of my outage?

Customers can check the status of an outage, and report an outage or downed line by calling 866-710-8222, visiting the Outage Center at www.lbwl.com/outagecenter or using the BWL Outage Center mobile app.

How many tornadoes were reported Thursday night?

The National Weather Service NOAA storm reports map says eight tornadoes took place across Michigan. The NWS issued tornado warnings Thursday night for at least 16 Michigan counties.

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Here’s where tornadoes have been confirmed:

An EF0 tornado caused mostly tree damage along its 8.5 mile path near Bedford, northeast of Battle Creek in Calhoun County. “It began just west of Saint Marys Lake and traveled just south of the lake and remained very close to Saint Marys Lake Road before working off to the northeast, lifting off near 13 Mile road just west of Mud Lake in Calhoun County.”

An EF1 tornado north of Charlotte in Eaton and Ingham counties caused tree and structure damage. “A number of homes had roofing material ripped away and several outbuildings were heavily damaged. The tornado also damaged a number of warehouse type buildings along its path.” In Delta Township, west of Lansing, a semitruck overturned on Millet Highway between South Canal Road and South Creyts Road.

An EF1 tornado developed just east of the Thornapple River northeast of Caledonia, the NWS said. It tracked northeast with peak damage near Campbell Lake, where houses sustained roof damage. The track continued northeast crossing Interstate 96 around Hastings Road before ending just south of Saranac. The tornado began in Kent County and ended in Ionia County.

A tornado, rating not listed, developed near Sandy Pines campground and became more intense near the intersection of 138th Avenue and 24th Street near Burnip. “Primary damage consisted of numerous trees uprooted and snapped. Some of the more significant damage and most intense winds occurred around Hilltop View Drive and 21st Street,” the NWS said.

An EF1 tornado with estimated top winds of 95 mph developed near the intersection of 114th Avenue and North 16th Street southwest of Martin where a power pole was pushed over. The tornado heavily damaged a campground, flipped trailers and destroyed roofs from falling trees. The most significant damage occurred near and east of the intersection of 116th Avenue and U.S. 131 and continued into downtown Martin. The tornado weakened as it moved east of Martin before dissipating near the Allegan/Barry county line.

An EF1 tornado struck between Stockbridge and Gregory. It was on the ground for a couple minutes before “gusting out” over Gregory.

NWS damage survey confirmed an EF0 tornado touched down northeast of Atlas in Genesee County and was on the ground 3 minutes before lifting north of Goodrich.

NWS damage survey confirmed an EF0 tornado touched down just west of St. Charles in Saginaw County and was on the ground for 5 minutes before lifting in St. Charles.