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Gary Residents Face Prolonged Outages as Lawsuit Targets NIPSCO
Powerful storms hit northwest Indiana on 11 August and damaged many power lines.
At one point, about 374,500 customers lost electricity.
On Saturday, more than 30,100 customers were still without power.
Many of them lived in Gary, where residents said the heat and darkness were making life difficult.
Some people also needed electricity for medical equipment.
A community center provided food, air conditioning, and phone-charging help.
A lawsuit says the utility should have done more to trim trees near power lines.
The utility disagrees and says it has greatly increased spending on vegetation management.
Officials and hundreds of repair workers are trying to restore power, but complete repairs may take until 25 August.
More than 30,100 Northern Indiana Public Service Company customers remained without electricity Saturday after severe storms struck northwest Indiana on 11 August.
The storms killed at least seven people, displaced about 1,000, and produced record rainfall that flooded several communities.
Gary residents described dangerous heat, dark streets, and difficulties supporting children and people dependent on oxygen equipment.
A class-action lawsuit accuses Northern Indiana Public Service Company of failing to clear vegetation around power lines before the storms.
Northern Indiana Public Service Company disputes that characterization, while the utility says full restoration may not occur before 25 August.
- Who
- Gary residents, Northern Indiana Public Service Company, local and state officials, and repair crews are involved.
- What
- Severe storms caused widespread power outages, flooding, deaths, displacement, and a class-action lawsuit against the local utility.
- Where
- Gary and other communities across northwest Indiana.
- When
- The storms began on 11 August; more than 30,100 customers remained without power on Saturday, and full restoration was not expected before 25 August.
- Why
- High winds damaged or destroyed utility infrastructure; the lawsuit alleges that uncleared vegetation worsened the outages, a claim the utility disputes.
Residents and Lawsuit Plaintiffs
Northern Indiana Public Service Company
Vegetation management
Residents and Lawsuit Plaintiffs
The class-action lawsuit alleges that the utility failed to take preventive steps to clear vegetation around power lines and that fallen trees and overgrown vegetation caused the widespread outages.
Northern Indiana Public Service Company
Northern Indiana Public Service Company strongly disagrees with that characterization and says its vegetation-management spending has more than doubled since 2016.
Accountability and response
Residents and Lawsuit Plaintiffs
Residents say the prolonged outage has left them hot, frustrated, and in survival mode, with dark streets and difficulties caring for children and people using oxygen tanks.
Northern Indiana Public Service Company
The utility says crews are working on extensive storm damage, while Gary officials said more than 600 linemen were working in the city and that the disruption affected northwest Indiana broadly, not Gary alone.
Key facts
- Customers still without power
- More than 30,100 Northern Indiana Public Service Company customers as of Saturday
- Peak outage total
- About 374,500 customers
- Storm deaths
- At least seven people
- People displaced
- About 1,000
- Wind speed
- Up to 99 mph (159 kilometers per hour)
- Gary repairs
- About 300 poles and 44 transmission poles needed repair or replacement
- Expected full restoration
- Not before 25 August, according to a Northern Indiana Public Service Company executive
- Federal aid request
- Indiana Governor Mike Braun sought a major disaster declaration covering 54 counties
Quotes
Shatiya Hardin
Gary resident describing the effects of the prolonged outage
“It's not OK for us to continually be in survival mode. We don't have service in this area at all whatsoever. At night, the streets, the roads, everything is pitch black besides the lights from the cars.”
livemint.com
“But going back to the utility side, what I'm going to encourage and demand is that we start having more accountability.”
livemint.com
Sources
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