Thousands in northwest Indiana still face power outages over a week after severe storms struck the area, leaving considerable damage in their wake. Crews from Northern Indiana Public Service Co. are tirelessly working to restore services, but as of late Wednesday, 75,000 customers remain without power, mainly in Lake County near the Illinois border. This includes more than 20,000 residents in Gary, who have been queuing at community centers for hot meals and phone charging facilities.
Unfortunately, full power restoration in Gary is unlikely before August 25, according to NIPSCO. Executive Melody Birmingham reported that around 300 poles and 44 power transmission poles need repairs or replacements, as 99 mph winds wreaked havoc. Birmingham emphasized the challenges of losing perishables and living without air conditioning.
“These aren’t simple repairs,” Birmingham explained at a press briefing. “These are systems that are being rebuilt.”
Utility spokesperson Jeremy Spurrier from Portage, about 40 miles from Chicago, shared his experience. Despite having a generator, he spoke of high costs, as it consumes about $75 of gas daily. To preserve insulin, he travels to Illinois for ice to keep it cool.
“If I run out of ice, that’s several hundred dollars of insulin just ruined,” Spurrier mentioned.
The storm’s impact on Gary, a predominantly Black city, has raised concerns among residents about neglect. Birmingham addressed these, stating that outage management isn’t based on income or race, but rather storm impact.
“We have affluent areas facing outages too,” Birmingham said. “It’s about where the storm struck.”
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton reported that more than 600 linemen are working on power restoration efforts and stressed the broad regional impact.
“This is clearly not just a Gary situation. It is a northwest Indiana situation,” Melton stated.
The storms, beginning on August 11, have resulted in the deaths of a 4-year-old boy, three men, and three women, according to Liz Woods from the state Department of Homeland Security.
In Whiting, Myra Carden, 74, remains without power despite no storm damage to her property. Experiencing her second blackout, she expressed frustration over ineffective outage reports.
“More than once I have put in an outage report,” Carden said. “All I get back is, ‘You already put in a report.’”
Though using a generator, Carden worries about losing meats stored in her freezer, fearing it will all go to waste.