Newberry expected to be without power for at least 24 hours

• Newberry, an Upper Peninsula village, doesn’t have power as of Saturday, July 9, and is expected to go without it at least 24-48 hours, according to the Village of Newberry.
• Newberry has its own power system. A transformer in its power substation stopped working unexpectedly.

The Village of Newberry, the “Moose Capital of Michigan” located about an hour west of Sault Ste. Marie, is expected to be without power for at least 24 hours while daytime temperatures are expected to reach 86 degrees.

A transformer in the village’s power substation stopped working, causing a system-wide outage, according to a Facebook post by the village. As of 9:13 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, the village has contacted a company to provide a portable power system and anticipates 24-48 hours or more until power is restored, according to the post.

The village previously had a backup generator, but it failed in 2022 and was taken offline because it could not be repaired, according to the Village of Newberry.

“Without a substation, power cannot be sent out to the power grid,” according to a 12:55 p.m. post by the village. “This means that even if we had a working backup generator, the power could not get to the customers because the substation has to be functional.”

Crews with temporary substations are deploying from Detroit and are expected to be onsite within 10-24 hours, Village of Newberry posted at 12:55 p.m.

As of 2:03 p.m., Newberry’s water and sewer systems are working as normal again with help from Pentland Township’s backup generator, according to the Village of Newberry. This update followed news the village’s backup generator system for its water system was not working properly as of 9:13 a.m.

Temperatures in Newberry are expected to reach highs of 86 degrees on Saturday and 82 degrees on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. At night, temperatures are expected in the mid-60s, along with a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Saturday night.

Newberry handles its own power while Cloverland Electric Cooperative covers most of Luce County, where fewer than 1,500 live in Newberry. According to Cloverland Electric Cooperative, none of its nearly 45,000 customers are without power as of 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9.

The Village of Newberry is providing a cooling and electronics charging station at 307 E. McMillian Ave. in the village council chambers until 7 p.m. Aug. 9, according to the village.

The Newberry Area Ministerial Association is also providing a cooling and electronics charging station at Living Water Assembly of God Church, 5192 County Road 403, until 7 p.m. Aug. 9, according to the Village of Newberry.

The Village of Newberry did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.