Indiana storm power outages leave more than 30,000 NIPSCO customers in dark
More than 30,100 NIPSCO customers remained without electricity after deadly August storms as Gary residents sought meals, cooling and charging.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Indiana storm power outages were still affecting just over 30,100 Northern Indiana Public Service Co. customers on Saturday, more than a week after severe weather tore through the region, according to CBS News. The storms, which began Aug. 11, killed at least seven people and displaced about 1,000 residents, CBS News reported.
The remaining total marked a sharp drop from the outage’s peak, when 374,500 NIPSCO customers had no electricity, CBS News said. But for residents still waiting, the recovery had already stretched into days of heat, spoiled food and limited access to phones and medical equipment.
How many customers were without power after the Indiana storms?
The count changed rapidly as crews restored service. The Associated Press reported that 85,000 NIPSCO customers remained out on the morning of Aug. 19, after the utility said it had restored electricity to 285,000 customers since Aug. 11. PBS NewsHour reported more than 70,000 people without power across northwest Indiana on Aug. 20.
Gary was among the hardest-hit places. CBS News said the initial outage affected more than half the city’s residents. The AP counted more than 22,000 Gary customers without power on Aug. 19, while PBS NewsHour put the Aug. 20 figure at about 20,000 customers.
Restoring power after a storm can mean more than reconnecting individual homes. PBS NewsHour reported that some damaged transmission poles would need to be replaced, while the AP said NIPSCO described the destruction as widespread and said crews from around the country had come to help repair wires, poles and other equipment.
Residents turn to community aid
With air conditioning and refrigerators offline, Gary residents used a community center for hot meals, cooling and phone charging, according to CBS News. PBS NewsHour reported that city officials also planned to provide three meals a day, tarps and charging stations.
The outage created particular risks for people who needed refrigerated medication or electricity-powered medical devices. The AP reported that a Portage resident with diabetes had driven to Illinois for ice to protect his insulin, while CBS News quoted a Gary resident who raised concerns about older people using oxygen tanks.
The state Department of Homeland Security said the deaths since the storms began included a 4-year-old boy, three men and three women, according to the AP.
What is being done about the Indiana storm damage?
Gov. Mike Braun requested an expedited FEMA major-disaster declaration for 54 counties on Thursday, CBS News reported. Braun estimated losses from the storms and their aftermath could exceed $5 billion.
A class-action lawsuit filed against NIPSCO alleges the utility failed to trim vegetation near power lines proactively and says fallen trees and vegetation were the main cause of the outages, CBS News reported. Those are allegations, not findings. NIPSCO disputed the characterization of its vegetation practices and said its spending on vegetation management has more than doubled since 2016.
The Gary mayor said the city would review its emergency response and pressed for greater utility accountability, CBS News reported. The AP reported that more than 600 linemen were working in Gary as restoration continued.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.