Storm and Outage Details

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) will work safely and as quickly as possible Thursday to restore customers who lost power after a second round of severe weather Wednesday evening moved through our service area. 

  

• Heavy rain, lightning and damaging wind gusts caused trees to fall, snapping power poles and power lines – especially in Delaware County, Indiana. As of 8:00 a.m., approximately 7,300 I&M customers in the Muncie area are without power. At the peak of Wednesday’s storm more than 11,000 Muncie area customers lost service.
• I&M anticipates having the majority of customers who can receive power restored by 11 p.m. Thursday. Many customers will receive service before the estimated time. Customers can enroll in mobile alerts for personalized restoration information. Sign up on I&M’s mobile app or at IndianaMichiganPower.com/Alerts.
• I&M has a robust and skilled storm restoration team of employees, mutual assistance personnel and contractors on the ground. Ahead of the inclement weather, I&M retained mutual assistance crews working in north central Indiana and southwest Michigan earlier this week. The majority of those workers have been shifted to the southern districts and will focus Thursday on repairing and replacing damage to our electrical system in the hardest hit areas.
• Damage assessment is underway to get a grasp of the scope of repairs and equipment needed to restore power. Once assessment is complete, I&M will have a better idea of restoration times.

• I&M urges the public to remain a safe distance away from crews restoring power. Our team is working near dangerous equipment, often in clearly marked safe areas. Please be alert in work zones and give enough room to keep crews safe as they work to restore power.
• As customers inspect damage, please be cautious. Don’t attempt to remove tree limbs or debris yourself or walk near standing water if it is near a downed power line. If you notice a downed line or other hazard, stay far away and call local police or I&M immediately at 1-800-311-4634.

STAY CONNECTED:

As a result of the significant impacts from the storm, I&M customers should prepare to be without service until 11 p.m. Thursday. Estimated restoration times are when crews expect at least 90% of customers to be restored, but most customers will have power before the below estimated time.

After the damage assessment phase is complete and crews begin work on individual outages, an estimated time of restoration will be communicated to customers. Stay connected and informed with the following:

• Monitor the status of your outage at IndianaMichiganPower.com/App.
• Sign up for text and email alerts on the app or at IndianaMichiganPower.com/Alerts.
• View outages and estimates at IndianaMichiganPower.com/OutageMap.

HOW I&M RESTORES POWER:

Customers are often concerned when they see crews leave before power is restored. The entire line must be assessed before power is restored - for the safety of your family and our crews. Power restoration is prioritized in 4 steps to ensure public safety and restore as many customers as quickly as possible:

1. Assessing - Our crews identify safety hazards and assess the damage to determine what is needed to make repairs.
2. Essentials - Essential public safety facilities such as hospitals, 9-1-1 call centers, water treatment facilities, and police and fire stations are restored first. 
3. Large Groups – next our crews restore power to large clusters of customers where a single repair can restore hundreds or thousands of customers. 
4. Small clusters and Individuals - are then restored to complete the process.

SAFETY MESSAGES:

• Stay Away from Downed Lines: Remember, all downed lines should be considered deadly. The power line and anything it could touch, including fences or in standing water, can carry electric currents which could cause serious or even fatal injuries. If you see a fallen wire, keep yourself and others, including pets away and call local police or Indiana Michigan Power immediately at 1-800-311-4634.
• Look Up. If you’re outside, please look up and be aware of your surroundings as the ground is saturated from the rain and trees and limbs could fall at any moment.
• I&M urges the public to remain a safe distance away from crews restoring power. Our team is working near dangerous equipment, often in clearly marked safe areas. Please be alert in work zones and give enough room to keep crews safe as they work to restore power.
• Let us know if you plan to use a generator. This protects you and our line workers restoring power. See our Generator Safety Tips for a full list of ways to stay safe.
• For more safety tips visit IndianaMichiganPower.com/safety/storms/.