Consumers Energy officials are thanking customers for their patience and understanding as crews from Michigan and neighboring states finish restoring power to the last remaining customers impacted earlier this week. The historic storms brought ice accumulation in northern Michigan and nine confirmed tornadoes to southern Michigan impacting more than 390,000 customers.

While we’re nearing the end of our restoration efforts, you will continue to see crews in your community. Some crews are being redeployed to assist in other areas still recovering from the storm while others will remain in the region to clean up debris. In the following weeks, crews will work to remove the downed poles, wires and other materials used during restoration. We ask our neighbors to be aware during the clean-up process: never approach any downed wires or damaged equipment and allow crews the space they need to work safely.

“We are incredibly proud of our crews and support teams who responded swiftly and tirelessly during this critical time,” said Norm Kapala, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge for restoration. “We know how important reliable power is to our customers, and we thank them for their patience as we worked to bring everyone back online.”

Throughout the restoration, we were also deeply moved by the support shown by our communities. In Pellston— the “Ice Box of the Nation” — hearts were anything but cold. When more than 100 crews stopped by the Pellston General Store, they were told, “It’s on us.”

“When we arrived and set up our command center, there was no electricity, no water and no food available,” said Andy Snider, executive director of electric operations. “This establishment really opened its doors to help our crews out. The support they’ve offered helped us expedite restoration.”

Store Director, Nate Hendricks said he was happy to help. “These crews are away from their families helping us get back in business and getting everyone’s power back. We want to pay it forward.”

We’re grateful for this incredible example of community spirit — and for every neighbor, business and local partner who supported our crews throughout this storm. You remind us why our work matters and motivate us to keep improving every day.

Even though storm restoration is nearly complete, customers will continue to see our crews throughout the year as we push forward on our efforts to improve as outlined in the Reliability Roadmap. As weather events grow more frequent and severe, investing in a stronger, more resilient electric grid is essential. We’re continuing to upgrade infrastructure, trim trees, replace aging equipment and implement smart technologies to better withstand future storms and reduce outage times.