After more than two weeks, almost all residents of Gary, Indiana, have regained power following severe storms. By Wednesday afternoon, fewer than 250 customers in the city still faced outages, according to Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO). The company declared that the restoration efforts linked to the August 11 storm were largely concluded, though some individual outages remained under resolution.
The National Weather Service reported that a derecho, characterized by tornado-strength winds, struck Indiana alongside other Midwest areas. The storm boasted winds between 70 and 100 mph, damaging power lines and severely impacting services. NIPSCO indicated this was the most destructive incident in its history, affecting approximately 80% of its customers, which equates to around 375,000 people. By Wednesday night, fewer than 250 outages lingered in other service areas.
Additionally, the storm included tornadoes. An EF2 tornado spanning 26 miles touched down, extending from Illinois into Indiana, with peak winds reaching 110 mph, damaging roofs and uprooting trees as reported by the National Weather Service.
NIPSCO faced criticism over its slow power restoration. On Sunday, Gary Mayor Eric Melton labeled the restoration pace as ‘unacceptable’. Residents, in their effort to find relief from the heat, resorted to running cars for air conditioning. Instances of generator theft were reported by Calvin Boone of Gary. Another resident, Joetta Walker, who suffers from asthma, had to depend on an inhaler due to the outage affecting her nebulizer’s operation.
Residents voiced concerns about delays possibly being racially motivated, as Gary is predominantly a Black city. However, an executive from NIPSCO’s parent company stated that outages were not influenced by race, but where the storm impacted.
Governor Mike Braun, elected in 2024, called for an investigation into NIPSCO’s response, stating the utility, as a monopoly, should utilize its resources to promptly restore services during such disasters. Braun’s news release on Monday remarked that NIPSCO did not meet these expectations.
A major disaster declaration approved by President Donald Trump, as mentioned by Braun, allows additional aid. Seven storm-related fatalities in Indiana were confirmed by NBC News, with Lake County among the affected areas.
NIPSCO President and CEO Vince Parisi conveyed gratitude for customer patience in a statement on Tuesday. He acknowledged the extensive damage and noted the ongoing support for affected communities. Meanwhile, areas like Noblesville dealt with floodwaters following the heavy rains.
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