Local business without power for days as companies work on restoration
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) — While many had power restored over the weekend, one business in Lansing had to wait four days, bringing complications to the store.
Westlund Apple Market lost power around 11:45 pm on Thursday night, forcing staff, volunteers, and the owner to clear out the perishable inventory.
“All the perishables, we lost it all,” Owner Tim Westlund said.
From hot dogs to frozen dinners and ice cream, all of it had to be tossed into dumpsters on Monday.
Earlier Monday afternoon, Westlund was still unsettled without a clear timetable from the power company.
“Basically, every day they tell us tomorrow at whatever time, one thirty, two thirty, three o’clock, that’s what they are saying now,” he said. “: I’m hoping it comes back on when they say it comes back on. Every day I lose business is one day closer to…you know.”
The last thing Westlund wants to do is shut down the store.
Fortunately for him, just before 3 p.m. on Monday, Westlund’s Apple Market’s lights came back on. This doesn’t change the fact that they still have to work on clearing out inventory, but it is a step in the right direction.
The Apple Market now has a sign on the door saying they will be open on Wednesday with a limited stock.
Dick Peffley, the General Manager for the Board of Water and Light said he is happy with the progress considering the damage.
“The storm took out, Thursday night, 24,000 customers and a historical amount of transmission poles…Typically, a storm won’t take those down. We’ve only lost two in the last 25 years, we lost 22 this time,” he said.
As for at timeline, Peffley said by Tuesday or Wednesday, power should be restored completely.
“So there’s a lot of restoration there. to go from twenty-four thousand customers down to 600, we’re nearing the finish line,” he said.
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