After an ice storm knocked out power across the state, 400,000 consumers were still without power on Saturday. For some, this is the second blackout in as many months.
When Anna Capling, a labor and delivery nurse in Livonia, Mich., learned from family members that their lights were flickering due to an imminent ice storm on Wednesday, she stood up to charge her phone in case the power went out.
All went dark when she heard a huge boom. She still lacks power days later.
“It’s simply irritating,” said Ms. Capling. “It almost feels a little dismal since you never know when it’ll come back on.”
Ms. Capling was one of hundreds of thousands of customers in southern Michigan who were still trying to stay warm on Saturday, as power outages plagued the region days after a winter storm that killed at least one person.
Overnight Wednesday, snow, freezing rain, and wind gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour pounded the Upper Midwest, causing havoc and coating trees and power lines in ice.
As a result of the power disruptions, individuals were directed to warming centers set up by local governments and the American Red Cross. According to PowerOutage.us, about 400,000 Michigan consumers were still without power as of Saturday evening.
Many people noted in interviews that the situation is all too familiar. Michigan is one of the worst states for power reliability, according to the Consumers Utilities Board, an Illinois-based nonprofit that evaluates utilities across the country.
According to the organization’s 2021 report, the state ranks fifth worst, with the typical customer facing more than nine hours of outage each year during a large event. Michigan is also among the worst for outage recovery, requiring an average of six hours, according to the survey.
DTE Energy, one of Michigan’s major power companies, stated that 75 percent of its customers would have power restored by Saturday and that the majority of the remaining outages will be resolved by the end of Sunday. More than 4,000 workers were on the ground, according to the utility, to help restore power to over 235,000 customers in Detroit and Ann Arbor.
Consumers Energy, another company in the state, predicted that electricity will be restored in most places by Sunday, but in some areas as late as Monday. Over 115,000 of the company’s customers are without power in southern Michigan, including Kalamazoo.
This is the second power outage in six months for several people who are enduring the winter storm. In August, severe thunderstorms caused blackouts across the state. This summer, Ms. Capling said she was without power for three days. She lost all of her meal both times.
“Many people can’t afford that,” she explained. “It’s incredibly annoying and disheartening, especially with the rising cost of goods right now.”
Because of the frequency of blackouts, Ben Saltsman, who lives in Bloomfield Township and was without electricity for two days, has developed a sort of pattern. He starts by emptying his ice machine; he’s learned from past experience that it makes a massive mess. Afterwards he cleans out his fridge and delivers the food to pals who do have power.
“We’re hoping they don’t consume the good things,” he explained.
Ms. Capling stated that she, her husband, and four of her children, ages one to eighteen, have temporarily relocated to Pinckney to live with her father-in-law. Her husband can work from home, but she has had to go an hour out of her way to work. Her children had also been absent from school for three days.
“My 312 year old is just wondering when we can go home,” Ms. Capling explained.
The American Red Cross has also established four warming centers in southern Michigan, offering cots, hot meals, and water. Ann Arbor had four warming centers open at one point, but it was down to one by Saturday evening, according to municipal authorities.
Kathy Space knew she was in big danger when she awoke early on Thursday at her Portage home and tried to turn on the lights.
Mrs. Space, 68, had just returned home from the hospital after suffering from severe kidney difficulties. She weighs little more than 80 pounds, making it difficult for her to stay warm.
Her husband, Thomas, and she watched as the temperature in their home dropped into the low 60s. When Ms. Space began to experience headaches and shortness of breath, the two decided it was time to part ways.
“The lower my body temperature drops, the more things stop working,” she added.
The Spaces attempted to contact hotels in the vicinity, but many were fully booked and available rooms were prohibitively pricey. Mr. Space discovered the American Red Cross shelter in Kalamazoo, so the couple packed their belongings and spent the night there on Friday evening.
“Just being able to walk in here and be given a cot was almost a blessing,” she remarked. “We had no idea it was here.”
According to the National Weather Service, the region will experience low temperatures overnight Saturday, with a low near 28 degrees, and sunny skies on Sunday, with high in the mid-40s before strong winds and rain move in.
