Thousands of Gary residents without power for 2 weeks are breathing sigh of relief
Gary residents face two weeks without power as NIPSCO crews work to restore service
More than 2,000 NIPSCO customers in Gary remain without power after two weeks, as utility crews install new poles and clear storm damage while residents and local leaders demand answers and relief.
GARY, Ind. - Two weeks after severe weather hit northwest Indiana, there were still thousands of Gary residents without power.
Power outages in Gary
The backstory:
Utility crews were working in Gary's Miller neighborhood Tuesday, installing new power poles and cutting vegetation around power lines as some residents remained without electricity nearly two weeks after severe weather hit northwest Indiana.
For Andre Abrams, the sight of crews outside his home was a welcome one.
"They said like, ‘hey, you mind moving your car,’" Abrams said. "When they said that, we already got kind of a sigh of relief."
Abrams said he and his family have been without power for two weeks.
"Living in the dark, we got used to it, but it's nothing that no one wants to live in by choice," he said.
Abrams said he has been relying on a generator while waiting for his electricity to be restored. He said a tree also fell on his car during the Aug. 11 storm, totaling the vehicle and damaging his phone.
Despite the setbacks, Abrams said he is trying to stay positive.
"I'm trying to keep the smile," he said. "I want to be that light for my city. I want to be the light for those around me that are still going through a negative time."
NIPSCO's latest restoration estimate
As of 6:27 p.m. Tuesday, NIPSCO said it expected restoration work to be substantially complete in Gary, Portage and Lake Station by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25.
NIPSCO stressed that those estimates are not guarantees for individual homes or businesses.
The utility said most customers may have power restored before the estimated time, but some individual outages could extend beyond the estimate because of localized damage, safety conditions or additional repairs.
NIPSCO also said it has brought in additional contractor crews, neighboring utilities and mutual assistance crews from across the country.
The state's Emergency Operations Center is also assisting with vegetation removal.
NIPSCO said no outage is being overlooked and that crews will continue working to restore remaining customers.
The extended outages are also prompting calls for more accountability.
Gov. Mike Braun has called on state regulators to investigate NIPSCO's response to the widespread outages, including how the utility has spent money on vegetation management and infrastructure upgrades.
State Sen. Mark Spencer, D-Gary, said residents deserve answers about what went wrong.
"We've never seen anything like this before with a catastrophic event like 14 days ago," Spencer said. "The challenges that our citizens have faced, they need answers."
Spencer said state officials need to examine what safeguards failed and whether customers are being billed properly.
He also wants NIPSCO to provide more regular updates to state regulators.
"I think that with our utility board, that NIPSCO go before it quarterly and give updates on best practices of what they're doing to ensure that steps are in place, that safety measures are in place, to ensure the safety and that all of that power is going to be restored in a timely fashion," Spencer said.
Spencer said the utility needs to be held accountable if extreme weather events become more common.
"If we're truly in Tornado Alley and this is our new normal, we need to have methods in place to ensure that everyone is safe and that service is restored quickly if we, in fact, lose it in the future," he said.
Spencer also said NIPSCO should consider how it can support customers who have endured lengthy outages.
"I think they should look very emphatically at their wallets to figure how they can support the ratepayer," Spencer said.
What's next:
NIPSCO said its community estimates reflect when restoration work in a broader area is expected to be substantially complete. Individual homes and businesses may require additional repairs.
The state investigation called for by Braun could also provide more information about NIPSCO's storm preparation, vegetation management and infrastructure spending.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago's Bret Buganski.