Consumers Energy Near Final Restoration After Friday Storm, Preparing for Next Winter Blast

Consumers Energy Near Final Restoration After Friday Storm, Preparing for Next Winter Blast

Jackson, Mich. Saturday, March 14, 2026

Consumers Energy today nearly finished restoring power to Michigan homes and businesses that were affected by powerful 70 mph winds Friday and is now preparing for more high winds, snow and freezing rain that are expected to strike the state Sunday and Monday.

The company will again deploy more than 450 crews to be ready to respond to any outages, with the next storms' impact expected across the Lower Peninsula.

Snow will begin accumulating Sunday morning for locations north of I-96, lasting through Monday. Freezing rain is expected to hold off until Sunday afternoon, with a focus north of U.S. 10. The greatest freezing rain totals are forecasted to be north of M-55 through Monday morning. In addition to the winter weather, high winds are expected across the state for both Sunday and Monday. There's also a risk of severe thunderstorms in southern Michigan late Sunday.

"Our line worker crews are again preparing for duty in today's lull between storms, and they'll be ready to restore power as quickly and safely as they can," said Chris Fultz, one of Consumers Energy's officers in charge for restoration. "We want to help our customers be ready, too, and appreciate their patience as we continue to deal with unpredictable late winter weather."

Consumers Energy is actively preparing crews for the next round of work, mobilizing equipment and vehicles to be ready to respond. Line workers can work up to 16 hours at a time, ensuring the company will be able to repair any damage and restore power around the clock.

Consumers Energy encourages Michiganders to pay attention to travel advisories and not travel unless needed. Customers can continue to check the status of outages at ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. They can also sign up to get outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email or text message, Text 'REG' to 232273 or visitConsumersEnergy.com/alerts.

Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

• Be alert to crews working along roadsides. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past.

• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050. Consumers Energy reminds people that falsely calling in downed lines actually slows down the restoration process for everyone.

• 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. Read more guidance on safe generator use here.

• 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.

• In some cases, the mast that holds the electric service wires to a home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.

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Members of the media are reminded to call 1-800-557-4625 to reach a Consumers Energy Media Relations representative 24/7.