Power outage planned for thousands in Ionia County as Consumers Energy upgrades lines

IONIA COUNTY, MI — Some 3,000 homes and businesses in Ionia County will temporarily lose power this weekend as Consumers Energy upgrades its high-voltage power lines.

Consumers Energy plans to make the upgrades overnight from 11 p.m. Saturday, May 31, until as late as 6 a.m. Sunday, June 1. The upgrades are meant to reduce the potential for weather-related power outages, the utility said in a release.

“Consumers Energy is carrying out projects like this to ensure the electric grid can better withstand storms and to keep the lights on for our customers,” Chris Laird, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric distribution, said in a statement.

“We appreciate that this scheduled power outage will be an inconvenience for those who live in the Saranac area, and we thank them in advance for their understanding.”

The overnight work will temporarily interrupt electricity to 3,013 homes and businesses in Saranac and Boston Township. Generally, the scheduled work will affect people who live south of Ellison Road, north of West Grand River Avenue, east of Oberley Drive and west of North Bellamy Road.

Postcards were mailed to affected customers in the area.

Consumers Energy often schedules work like this overnight, when many people are asleep, to minimize disruptions to businesses or other activities. If work needs to be rescheduled, a backup time is set from 11 p.m. Saturday, June 7, to 6 a.m. Sunday, June 8.

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