Consumers Energy deploys 500 crews as outages peak at 86K, most restored by Tuesday night

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Powerful spring storms and high winds knocked out power to thousands of customers across the Battle Creek area Monday afternoon. It brought down trees, power lines and forced road closures throughout several neighborhoods.

Storm damage was visible Tuesday across Urbandale, Emmett Township, and Pennfield Township where multiple roads were blocked by fallen trees, downed utility lines, or both.

Several were without power, many saying they lost power at 5 a.m.

At one home, tarps had been placed over a damaged screened-in porch after strong winds tore through the structure.

Several streets in Battle Creek, Michigan have been roped off by officials after strong winds Monday night tore down power lines and uprooted trees — knocking out power for nearly 90,000 customers. (Princess Jhané Stepherson/WWMT)

While crews worked to restore service, many residents without electricity remained inside their homes trying to stay warm. Others were seen sitting in vehicles charging phones and other electronic devices.

Consumers Energy Senior Vice President of Electric Distribution Greg Salisbury said the storm caused widespread outages overnight, at one point leaving as many as 86,000 customers without power.

“We know that being out of power is really hard,” Salisbury said. “This storm also hit hard last night. We’ve restored about 42,000 now. We have 500 crews working on it, and we will work around the clock until it’s all restored.”

Salisbury said the majority of customers in Battle Creek and surrounding communities were expected to have service restored by Tuesday night, though some of the hardest-hit locations could wait longer.

“There’ll be some really hard-hit areas where large trees have come down and created damage, and roads that are impassable. We may go into early tomorrow,” Salisbury said.

The company said crews had been mobilized ahead of the storm, but severe weather conditions still led to extensive damage.

According to Salisbury, the event included thunderstorms followed by powerful winds that brought trees onto lines and damaged infrastructure.

“The customers are out because of the weather,” he said. “These crazy spring storms, the thunderstorms went through, and then we had severe winds right behind them,” he said.

Some residents have raised concerns about whether Michigan’s aging electric grid also played a role in the widespread outages.

Consumers Energy said it has been investing in infrastructure upgrades through what it calls a reliability roadmap and annual action plan.

“We know the weather is continuing to get worse,” Salisbury said. “Each year we make a plan to invest in the areas that are the most aged or see the most outages.”

The company said it plans to trim more than 8,000 miles of trees this year and installed 32,000 new utility poles last year, with more expected this year.

Salisbury also addressed concerns from customers paying monthly utility bills and rate increases while still experiencing outages.

“Over 75 cents of every dollar is going right back into the grid to make it stronger,” he said. “It took years for the grid to get old, and it’s going to take us a little while to make it better.”

Consumers Energy urged the public to stay cautious as restoration work continues.

Officials said residents should remain at least 25 feet away from any downed power line, assume it is energized and call 911 or the company’s call center to report it.

The utility also warned residents using generators to keep them outside and away from garages, porches and homes to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

Salisbury said many line workers and utility employees are also dealing with outages in their own neighborhoods while working long shifts to restore service for others.

“We all live in the neighborhoods we serve, and we come to work with a heart of service,” Salisbury said. “We’re working 16 hours on, eight hours rest. This is what we do.”

As cleanup continues, road closures remained in place in some parts of the Battle Creek area Tuesday. Residents were urged to avoid blocked roads and give crews room to work.