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Heavy, wet snow likely to cause more power outages; I&M offers safety tips

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With the initial lake-effect snowstorm causing over 6,500 outages across the area this morning, Indiana Michigan Power crews acted quickly to restore about 90 percent of the outages by 2 p.m.

There are still about 600 outages as of 3:30 p.m., concentrated in the Berrien Springs area. Tracy Warner, Communications Manager for I&M, tells us most of the outages were from a substation near Buhchanan, which has since been restored. The additional outages should be restored by 10 p.m. Wednesday night, according to Warner.

With more snow expected Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, Warner also said more power outages should be expected.

“Obviously, we hope for the best and plan for the worst,” he said. “Hopefully [the storm] won’t cause a lot of problems, but you just never really know until it hits. It’s a heavy, wet snow and the problem is that can stay on the trees and bring limbs down on the power lines. But we have crews on standby ready to respond.”

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Additionally, Indiana Michigan Power is offering the following safety information:

  • Be careful around debris and fences. Heavy snow, fallen limbs and debris can hide downed power lines, and a downed line may be contacting a fence out of line of sight.
    Look around carefully. Trees could fall or drop limbs at any moment, please look up.
  • Downed power lines. Stay away from any downed wires and report them to I&M. You can contact I&M by calling 1-800-311-4634, report on our app or website, or call 911 Traffic lights may not be functioning. Please use caution and be mindful of first responders and utility workers on the roadways.
  • We urge the general public not to approach our crews. For your safety and ours, please do not approach I&M employees and contractors working to restore power.
  • When using a generator, connect appliances directly to the generator. Don’t connect the generator’s electrical output to any home or building electrical circuits. Don’t use gas-powered generators in enclosed or partially enclosed spaces, like a garage or a home.
  • For more safety tips visit IndianaMichiganPower.com/safety/storms/.

To see real-time outage map, click here.