A cold front moved through the area this morning, bringing high winds and wet weather across I&M’s service territory and causing widespread outages for many of our customers. We are seeing sustained winds of 25-35 mph and gusts of 45-55 mph, with the strongest winds peaking at 60 mph in Fort Wayne. Winds of this speed can knock down limbs and trees, damage utility equipment and even break poles.
We encourage the public to be careful if you are outside and watch out for common safety hazards described below.
As of 1:45 p.m. approximately 8,000 customers were without power, down from a peak of 10,500.
Our crews are working alongside our external partners and contractors to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Winds will continue to be an issue throughout the day, slowing work and likely causing additional outages.
Outage numbers will fluctuate throughout the day as repairs are completed and new outages occur. We encourage all customers to please report any outage they experience. You can quickly and easily report outages via our Indiana Michigan Power app; our website, IndianaMichiganPower.com; or by contacting us on social media or by phone at 800-311-4634.
OUTAGE COUNTS
Michigan total customers: 3,200
Benton Harbor area: 900
Buchanan area: 400
Three Rivers area: 1,900
Indiana total customers: 4,850
Fort Wayne area: 2,350
South Bend/Elkhart area: 400
Muncie/Marion area: 2,100
ESTIMATED TIMES of RESTORATION (ETRs)
Estimated restoration times will be fluid. Specific outages will have estimates from crews working on those repairs, but area-wide ETRs will be difficult to establish as winds cause additional damage throughout the day.
You can keep up with the latest outages and estimates on our outage map.
STAY INFORMED
I&M encourages customers to use the Indiana Michigan Power app to monitor the status of any outage affecting your home or business. IndianaMichiganPower.com/App
You can sign up for text and email alerts on the app or at IndianaMichiganPower.com/Alerts
See the location and status of outages using our outage map at IndianaMichiganPower.com/OutageMap
For the latest updates please follow Indiana Michigan Power on Facebook and find us on Twitter @IN_MI_Power
SAFETY INFORMATION
The high winds affecting our area have not ended. Please be careful if you are outside and watch out for these common safety hazards:
- Downed power lines. Stay away from any downed wires and report them to I&M. You can call us at 800-311-4634, report on our app or website, or call 911. Downed wires may be hidden by limbs and debris or touching a fence, so look carefully before cleaning up after the storm.
- Trees could fall or drop limbs at any moment, please look up.
- Fallen leaves may hide debris or downed wires, so look around carefully.
- Roads will likely be wet, slick and covered with debris and leaves. Please slow down.
- Traffic lights may not be functioning. Please use caution and be mindful of first responders and utility workers on the roadways.