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UPDATE 10 a.m. Thursday: The aftermath of a blustery day continues to echo throughout the region, as thousands remain without power and numerous school and government buildings are closed.
More than 7,000 Lansing Board of Water & Light Customers remained without power as of 8:30 a.m., the utility reported, down from 20,000 customers at the storm’s peak.
More than 12,000 Consumers Energy customers remain without power in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties. Consumers Energy reported about 183,000 statewide customers without power just before 9 a.m., down more than 100,000 since last evening.
A DTE Energy outage map indicates between 2,000 and 5,000 customers in the Williamston and Webberville areas remain without power. DTE Energy, which serves southeast Michigan, was especially hard hit, and this morning, about 670,000 customers of the utility were without power. The company said more than 3,000 power lines were pulled down, in many cases from falling trees.
BWL officials said power should be restored to all customers by Friday.
Consumers Energy spokesman Terry DeDoes said power should be restored to most customers by 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Power should be restored to those hardest hit, in Jackson and Flint, by 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
DeDoes said the energy company has not experienced so many outages since the 2013 ice storm. He estimated Wednesday's winds storm downed 7,000 electric lines and broke 1,000 poles.
He said the high winds combined with warm, soft soils meant more toppled trees throughout the state.
“That was unusual for a storm this time of year to have that combination of factors,” he said.
In a statement Thursday, BWL General Manager Dick Peffley said the company’s outage map was not functioning properly for about four hours Wednesday night.
Customers still were able to report outages, Peffley said, but could not track restoration efforts.
“…For that I apologize along with any inconveniences caused by the outages,” Peffley said in a statement. “As a reminder, a new outage map is slated to launch in early 2018 and is expected to address the issues.”
DeDoes said Consumers Energy also experience issued with its outage map. The nature and duration of those issues were not immediately available.
DTE Energy also had issues with its outage map.
DTE's outage map crashed Wednesday afternoon, according to spokesman Peter Ternes. Ternes said the outage map on the company's phone app was functioning Thursday morning.
"The main issue is we’re experiencing volume that is 20 times higher than our largest weather event ever," Ternes said. "We are working to add server capacity and adjust to it, but we’ve got many other issues at hand as well.”
All schools in East Lansing and Grand Ledge are closed today due to power outages, and numerous schools in Lansing are also suffering power outages.
East Lansing is offering curbside storm debris collection March 13, according to a statement from the city.
Crews will collect from curb sides loose tree limbs cut to less than four feet. Yard waste will not be collected until April. Residents can call the East Lansing Department of Public Works at 337-9459.
In Mason, 55th District Court is closed again, due to a power outage that first closed the court yesterday.
The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids predicts light snow in the region, most likely in areas south of Interstate 96. Accumulations of around a half inch are expected, although the snow may be "briefly heavy" at times, the service side. Temperatures today are expected to warm this afternoon, and top out near 40 degrees. Light winds are expected today, but will pick back up Friday, when they're predicted to be 20-30 mph. |
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