Consumers Energy customers voice frustration amid power restoration delays after storms

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Power is almost fully restored across Michigan after tornadoes tore through the state Thursday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 2,155 people across Michigan remain without power, according to an outage map provided by Consumers Energy.

While things are looking up, News Channel 3 heard from residents who are still frustrated with Consumers Energy about how long it took to get their power back on.

Hundreds took to News Channel 3’s Facebook page, expressing concerns over their restoration time estimates getting pushed back numerous times.

Kurtis Ploehn lives in Springfield. He told News Channel 3 his restoration time estimates changed five times over a four day period.

Battle Creek resident Robin Curtis is one of the few in West Michigan who is still waiting for her lights to come on.

“Thank God for a generator, but other than that, it’s kind of nobody’s coming to look,” Curtis said. “The lines broke over the shed, and nobody has been around.”

Curtis received a text to her phone Monday afternoon that her power would be restored by 10:45 p.m. However, that didn’t happen.

“We certainly understand the frustration that comes with waiting an extended period of time to get power in the first place,” Consumers Energy Spokesperson Brian Wheeler said. “As we go through that process to restore power, sometimes you encounter additional damage beyond what you saw on the front end, so that’s not to make an excuse, our commitment is to get the power on as safely and as quickly as we can.”

Another complaint News Channel 3 heard from residents was that the Consumers Energy outage map showed their power was restored, but they claim it was not.

“It’s hard to say exactly what the situation can be, on occasion, with storms like this, with with large numbers of customers affected there can be a discrepancy sometimes between the outage map and people’s reality,” Wheeler said. “So if you see a situation where that map doesn’t agree with what you’re seeing, please contact us right away.”

Wheeler told News Channel 3, Consumers Energy is always looking for ways they can be more efficient.

Consumers updates their outage map about every 15 minutes, ensuring power customers can stay up to date on when power is expected to be restored in their area, according to Wheeler.

If there appears to be a issue on the outage map a consumer notices, Wheeler suggests customers contact Consumers Energy, as they want the outage map to be a source people can rely on.