Whitmer declares energy emergency in 14 northern Michigan counties

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency in the Upper Peninsula as efforts to restore power and clean up continue after storms wreaked havoc in northern Michigan last weekend.

The executive order she signed suspends restrictions on commercial trucks transporting gasoline, distillate, propane and other necessary equipment to the area to increase the flow of fuel and supplies, her office said in a statement Friday.

“My top priority right now is ensuring that first responders have the fuel they need to continue recovery efforts and Michigan families have ample energy to heat their homes during this cold weather,” the governor said.

“With this executive action, Michigan will allow expanded flexibility for truck drivers to ensure the supply of fuel can be delivered to communities in the Upper Peninsula that need it the most right now. We will continue to support Michiganders as communities get back on their feet following this historic storm.”

Her office said the order will remain in effect through April 10 and applies to 14 U.P. counties: Keweenaw, Ontonagon, Luce, Schoolcraft, Baraga, Alger, Iron, Gogebic, Menominee, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Marquette and Houghton. Mackinac County was included under a previous executive order.

The declaration comes about four days after Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center to respond to the damaging ice storms in northern Michigan. The move authorized the Michigan State Police’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division to coordinate state recovery efforts in the region.

On Monday, Whitmer declared a state of emergency in 10 counties in northern Michigan following the ice storm — Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, and Alpena. The next day, she signed executive orders adding Alcona and Antrim counties to the declaration and lifted trucking restrictions to help expedite getting fuel and other supplies to impacted areas.

“We are going to stand tall for Michiganders who are working day and night to clear roads, fix powerlines, prepare food, and provide shelter for so many in need,” Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said in a statement. “During tough times, we step up to help each other. Today’s actions will help first responders get the fuel they need to keep operations going. We will get through this together.”

Outages remain

Crews have made progress in restoring electricity to many, but an estimated 71,000 were still without service Friday. The historical ice storm that struck the region Saturday had that number in the hundreds of thousands.

Consumers Energy had more than 9,900 customers without power in 16 counties across the northern part of the state’s lower peninsula as of Friday morning, according to its outage maps. Statewide, about 99.3% of its customers had service, but 904 outages affected 12,474 of them.

Thursday morning, there were more than 22,000 affected Consumers Energy customers in northern Michigan. At one time, it had about 350,000 in the dark due to the storms.

Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op, which serves a nine-county region in northeast Michigan, said Friday 27,329 of its more than 31,000 customers were still without service. It reported 29,735 customers with interrupted service Thursday morning.

Alpena Power reported 4,555 of its more than 16,000 customers had interrupted service early Friday. The company said it had 7,107 customers in the dark on Thursday.

Great Lakes Energy, which serves western northern Michigan from the tip to Holland, said Friday that 29,300 of its customer-members remain without service, down from 33,000 on Thursday.

In a statement Friday, company officials said restoring service has been challenging for its crews and it may take days before all customers are back online.

“GLE representatives continue working closely with local emergency response teams, embedding staff to more quickly respond to clearing needs,” they said. “Crews remain challenged by widespread damage with hundreds of downed poles.

“Restoration remains a lengthy process, as replacing each pole takes several hours, alongside repairing wires and clearing fallen trees. Restoration is progressing, but it may be multiple days before some areas receive power due to the catastrophic damage to infrastructure.”

Cloverland Electric Cooperative, which provides power in the eastern Upper Peninsula, reported Friday it had 306 customers in the dark. On Thursday morning, it said it had 1,773 customers, primarily in Mackinac County, without electricity.

“Restoration is steadily progressing,” company officials said Thursday evening. “Most of the remaining outages are scattered and affect only a few members at each location, which requires crews to travel long distances between sites. Much of the remaining work involves clearing downed trees and debris from lines, which is time-consuming and varies in difficulty by outage location.”

Also on Friday, Whitmer announced the state has launched a website for residents impacted by severe winter weather in northern Michigan.

“We know this week has been tough,” she said in a statement. “Thousands of Michiganders are still without power or fuel. We want to quickly point them in the right direction to get them the help they need, and that’s what this website aims to do. We’ll continue our all-hands-on-deck approach to help folks impacted by the historic storms. Michiganders are strong, and we’ll get through this together.”

The facilities dashboard on the site visually illustrates the number of shelters and fuel stations available as well as includes contact information. Location information for mobile oxygen stations is listed, as well as data on current power outages.

“It’s critically important to get information to impacted residents as efficiently as possible, and we hope this new webpage will make it easier to stay up to date on community resources and response efforts,” Col. James Grady, director of the Michigan State Police and state director of emergency management and homeland security, said in a statement. “Our State Emergency Operations Center remains activated, and as additional information and resources become available, this site will be updated.”

The Detroit News