Over 110K Customers Already Restored 

JACKSON, Mich., March 31, 2025 – Consumers Energy aims to bring more crews on to aid in restoration efforts, joining the more than 700 crews already working around the clock to restore power after a series of severe ice and thunderstorms swept across the state over the weekend. Since the storms began, over 110,000 customers have already been restored.

“Even a fraction of the ice or wind we saw at different points the last several days can cause significant damage, so to have multiple events like this in one weekend has put incredible pressure on our lineworkers and our grid,” said Norm Kapala, one of Consumers Energy’s officers in charge for the event. “We are immensely grateful to our customers for their patience and understanding as we tackle this restoration work. The damage we have seen is incredible, but our lineworkers are resilient and committed to working around the clock until every customer is restored.”

To demonstrate gratitude for customer understanding, Consumers Energy is offering a free meal to customers tomorrow, April 1, beginning at 4 p.m. at the E-Free Church Gaylord Campus (1649 M-32 in Gaylord).

Consumers Energy began preparing for the series of storms early last week, moving crews and equipment into place in Northern Michigan Friday afternoon and Saturday morning ahead of the ice storm, working to bring in contract crews from additional states. As restoration work continues, the company is also preparing for another wave of storms, similar in nature and location, to hit the state again on Wednesday.

“We know that even a day without power can be a significant hardship for many customers, and that is why we’re doing everything we can not only to restore those still without power, but to prepare for the outages we may experience later this week as more severe weather moves in,” Kapala said. “No matter what Mother Nature throws our way, we’re going to be working 24/7 to get the lights back on as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

• Be alert to crews working along the roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past workers on roadsides.
• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and to report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
• Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas. Read more guidance on safe generator use here.
• Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
• In some cases, the mast that holds the electric service wires to a home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.

Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. Consumers Energy knows job No. 1 is to keep the lights on for customers. We are committed to delivering reliable, clean, and affordable energy to our customers 24/7.