In northwest Indiana, tens of thousands remain without power, over a week after fierce storms caused destruction across the region. Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) continues around-the-clock work to address outages, yet by late afternoon Wednesday, 75,000 customers were still without electricity. The majority of these are in Lake County, near the Illinois border.
In Gary alone, over 20,000 customers lack power. Residents there have been frequenting community centers for hot meals and charging stations. Unfortunately, NIPSCO announced that full power restoration in Gary is not expected until August 25.
Restoration efforts involve repairing or replacing roughly 300 poles and 44 power transmission poles in Gary, where storms brought 99 mph winds. Melody Birmingham, an executive at NIPSCO’s parent company, highlighted the significant impact of the storm at a news conference. She empathized with those losing perishables and enduring days without air conditioning after the storm initially left 300,000 customers powerless. “These aren’t simple repairs,” Birmingham stated. “These systems are being rebuilt.”
Jeremy Spurrier from Portage, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, expressed relief at having a generator. However, he faces a costly fuel bill of $75 each day and relies on driving to Illinois for ice necessary to store his insulin. Failures in obtaining ice could result in ruined medication, costing several hundred dollars.
Gary, predominantly a Black city, has faced severe hardships, with some residents suspecting neglect. Birmingham denied any discrimination, asserting that both affluent and other diverse areas also remain without power. Mayor Eddie Melton acknowledged the weariness of Gary’s residents yet noted over 600 linemen are currently working on restoring power. “This is clearly not just a Gary issue, but a northwest Indiana issue,” he added.
Since the storms hit on August 11, fatalities have included a 4-year-old boy, three men, and three women, as reported by Liz Woods from the state Department of Homeland Security.
Residents like Myra Carden, 74, from Whiting, are experiencing blackouts without physical damage to their homes. Although Carden’s home wasn’t affected by the storm, her power has been unreliable. She endured a three-day blackout last week, with a second outage beginning Tuesday.
Carden, a paralegal, uses a generator sparingly to maintain her refrigerator but only when monitored. Her garage freezer remains full of beef and chicken, which are at risk of spoilage, making her worried that all might need to be discarded.
Leave a Reply