Consumers Energy Crews Make Progress in Restoring Electricity after Severe Weekend Storms

Update: Power Returned to Half of Affected Customers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 4, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Consumers Energy crews have restored power to half of more than 150,000 homes and businesses that lost electricity after devastating storms rolled through Michigan on Sunday. Close to 200 lineworkers and other personnel from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky are arriving in Michigan as work continues to restore electricity to hardest-hit areas by Thursday afternoon.

Consumers Energy is taking other steps to restore power quickly. Today, the energy provider set up mobile storm units – 50-foot trailers filled with equipment for crews in the field – in Traverse City and Tawas, which suffered heavy damage from the weekend weather.

“We are encouraged by the progress we are making, and we know there is still significant work yet to do,” said Mary Palkovich, the company’s vice president of energy delivery. “We are grateful for the patience and cooperation of residents, business owners and community leaders as we continue to work to repair the damage caused by Mother Nature.”

Since 11 a.m. Sunday, more than 153,000 Consumers Energy customers have been affected by the storm-related outages. As of 5 p.m., 75,000 remained without power.

Most affected customers should have their power restored by late Wednesday. In Leelanau, Grand Traverse and Ogemaw counties, complete restoration is not expected until late Thursday.

The public is encouraged to check for updated restoration information at www.ConsumersEnergy.com/outagemap. The map may be accessed by computers and mobile devices.

As of 4:45 p.m., counties most affected by electric interruptions were Alcona (3,255), Antrim (3,226); Arenac (3,021); Bay (329); Clare (2,380);  Crawford (1,577); Genesee (1,535); Gladwin (1,770); Grand Traverse (6,593); Iosco (4,727); Kalkaska (2,149); Kent (8,373); Leelanau (5,933);  Manistee (369); Missaukee (2,248); Montcalm (1,186); Muskegon (2,819); Ogemaw (7,833); Osceola (1,169); Oscoda (1,739); Ottawa (343); Roscommon (5,442); and Wexford (5,329).

Residents with concerns about staying in their home during an extended outage are encouraged to call 2-1-1 to learn about available resources, including shelters.

Palkovich reminded customers to stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines and anything they are touching and to immediately call 911 or Consumers Energy at 1-800-477-5050.

Consumers Energy officials also offered the following advice:

• Be alert to crews working along roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they safely can go past workers on roadsides.
• If using a generator, contact a licensed electrician to ensure that it is properly connected and, for the safety of our line workers and first responders, make certain it is isolated from the company’s electric distribution system. Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement or near any air intakes, and never fuel a generator when it is running.
• In some cases, the mast which holds the electric service wires to a customer’s home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.

Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.6 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

Media toolkit
DOWNED WIRE SAFETY VIDEO:  Learn tips about the dangers and how to stay safe around downed power lines
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEASqkonteI&list=PLmi8EGIdDXJgw6WdQeIT-Vl0zUC05U5yI

OUTAGE MAP: Additional storm and outage information is available through Consumers Energy’s online outage center atwww.ConsumersEnergy.com/outagecenter

Media Contacts: Brian Wheeler, 517-740-1545, or Roger Morgenstern, 616-530-4364

For more information about Consumers Energy, go to www.ConsumersEnergy.com.