The first week of April brought multiple rounds of severe storms through Indiana Michigan Power’s (I&M) territory. Tornados and damaging winds toppled trees and caused downed power lines and poles, taking out service for approximately 70,000 customers throughout the week. As I&M assessed storm damage, customers might have noticed an “estimated time of restoration” listed, which is determined by different factors.
When it comes to communicating an estimated time of restoration (ETR) after a storm, I&M will first establish an event ETR. This provides a date and time when 90% of customers with storm-related outages will be restored. Smaller groups of customers with greater localized damage, or those who cannot accept power following the storm, may see their outage extend longer. Once established, an ETR is visible on I&M’s outage map and as a notification for customers who have opted in through their I&M account.
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To determine an ETR, several factors play an important role, including the extent of damage. I&M’s team of damage assessors are trained to find damaged equipment and then identify what type of crew and materials are needed for restoration. They also relay hazards in the area that could impact a crew’s efforts. To further assist with this assessment, I&M also uses drones for hard-to-reach areas.
As damage assessment continues and crews progress through restoration efforts, additional information can allow for more specific and accurate ETRs:
- Circuit ETRs provide several hundred to a few thousand customers on a specific circuit with a more accurate timeframe when they will be restored.
- Small pocket ETRs are used for dozens to a few hundred customers in smaller “pocket” outages, such as those affecting neighborhoods.
- Localized ETRs share information specific to individual customers or small clusters, such as those on a specific streets or customers with damage to the wire serving their home.
When severe weather is forecasted, I&M prepares ahead of time to ensure personnel are in the right locations to quickly and safely restore service, should power go out. Often, this can be done by moving crews from one district to another. I&M also calls on mutual assistance crews for larger scale storms. In emergent weather situations, I&M will implement its Incident Command System, or ICS before the weather event begins. This helps to establish a coordinated response for managing resources, equipment and personnel available to respond quickly for our customers.
Knowing where to find information to stay up to date is important. Whether you are looking for outage maps or safety tips, stay in the loop with these resources: