LANSING, Mich. — Consumers Energy crews are preparing for potentially extreme weather, including damaging wind gusts, severe thunderstorms, and heavy rain, that could result in power outages, downed wires, and other safety hazards.
Regions in the western and southern parts of the state are expected to be hit hardest by the potential storms, starting late Wednesday night and continuing into the early morning hours on Thursday.
Some preparation tips for potential severe weather include:
- Charge all electronic devices. It’s advised to have an emergency battery or charging station available for use during an outage.
- Have an emergency kit that includes flashlights and extra batteries, water, canned food, and blankets. Be prepared with enough medication, baby supplies, and pet food if applicable. A battery-operated radio is also a good idea.
- Unplug sensitive electronics like TVs, computers, and printers. Turn power strips off.
- Consumers Energy also urges the public to keep these important storm safety tips in mind:
- Stay at least 25 feet away from downed wires, keep children or pets away, and report the issue by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Consumers Energy crews are taking extra health and safety precautions because of the COVID-19 situation and asks the public to keep at least six feet of distance from its crews.
- Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio, or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless, and deadly gas.
- 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.
- Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
Customers can report an outage, check the status of an outage, and get useful tips on what to do after a storm by visiting www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter [consumersenergy.com]. Customers can also sign up to get outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email, or text message, Text ‘REG' to 232273 or visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/alerts [consumersenergy.com].
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