Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Consumers Energy’s storm restoration work has entered the homestretch for customers affected by severe ice and thunderstorms that battered northern and southern portions of Michigan throughout the past week.

About 900 crews have helped restore power for customers who lost power over the weekend in the first series of storms that brought historic ice accumulation to northern Michigan and nine confirmed tornadoes to southern Michigan.

Some 47,000 additional customers lost power on Wednesday afternoon and evening given high winds cultivated by a second storm system.

While changing conditions and the complexity of the damage has impacted restoration efforts, the utility says crews will continue to work around the clock so that almost all the 370,000 customers impacted will be restored by the end of the day tomorrow.

Norm Kapala, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge of restoration, said “We expect to continue making good progress thanks to more favorable weather conditions across Michigan. We thank our customers for their continued patience as we work safely around the clock to fully restore all customers as quickly and safely as possible.”

For customers in especially hard-hit areas, Consumers Energy was working with local first responders and law enforcement in Crawford, Otsego, Oscoda, and Alcona counties to provide free water throughout the day today to those impacted by the storms.

AP photos.