Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) has restored power to more than 85% or more than 48,000 customers whose service was interrupted after a weekend winter storm blanketed our service area with freezing rain, ice and snow.

I&M estimates power to about 100 remaining southwest Michigan customers and a majority of remaining South Bend/Elkhart area customers will be restored by 3 p.m. today.

We are communicating restoration times to our customers via our mobile app, the outage map on our website and customers can call our 24/7 Customer Operations Center at 1-800-311-4634. Customers can also chat with a representative via Facebook or Twitter. (See the “Stay Informed” section below for links)

I&M greatly appreciates the patience from our customers as we work safely and efficiently to restore power. More than 660 I&M and AEP employees along with our business partners will continue restoration until the power is back on to all affected customers. Crews from seven states have been and will work long hours in the winter elements until all customers who lost service are restored.

The damage from this winter storm is widespread and includes 100 spans of wires down, a dozen broken or damaged poles and numerous trees and limbs needed to be trimmed before restoration work could resume.

I&M encourages customers to be aware that trees or limbs could still fall at any moment. Other possible lingering safety issues include:

• 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.
• It is vital to the safety of our customers and crews that customers who use generators must follow all the guidelines for proper use.
• Some roads remain icy or snow covered. Please use extreme caution if you must walk outside or drive.
• Some traffic lights may still not be functioning. Please use caution and be mindful of first responders and utility workers on the roadways.Crews are following all CDC guidelines perTaining to COVID-19 including physical distancing. We urge the general public not to approach our crews.

APPROXIMATE OUTAGE NUMBERS:

• South Bend/Elkhart area: 6,200
• Southwest Michigan: 100

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