Following severe winds that caused tens of thousands of power outages across Michigan Saturday, utility company Consumers Energy says power should be restored to most of its customers by the end of Monday.
Strong winds blew through Michigan’s Lower Peninsula Saturday afternoon, causing damage throughout much of the southern half of the state. According to Consumers Energy, more than 150,000 customers lost power amid the severe weather.
The company says that Midland, Flint, Carson City, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Alma and Ionia were among the hardest hit communities within its service area. Consumers reports that its service area experienced fallen trees and tree limbs, 192 broken poles and more than 2,200 damaged power lines.
More: Strong winds cause power outages, extensive damage across Metro Detroit
The company said early Sunday morning that power was restored to about 84,000 customers overnight Saturday. Power is expected to be restored to most affected Consumers Energy customers by the end of Monday.
“Our crews ... completed great work through the night and we are looking forward to favorable weather today to continue to restore power for residents and businesses,” Melissa Gleespen, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge, said Sunday morning. “We have also added crews to our system from Mutual Assistance that will enable us to have a successful day of restoration.”
As of 9:40 a.m. Sunday, about 59,900 Consumers customers were still affected by power outages. We’re tracking Sunday power outages right here.
Power is expected to be restored to most affected DTE Energy customers by the end of the day Sunday.
If you come across downed power lines, do not touch them or go anywhere near them. Report the downed lines to authorities or your utility company, and be sure to stay at least 25 feet away. Yellow caution tape indicates that there is a downed power line in the area -- for your own safety, officials say you should not cross the caution tape.
Report an outage to DTE here. Report an outage to Consumers Energy here.
Related: Kentucky hardest hit as storms leave dozens dead in 5 states