Michigan power outage crisis continues as new storm causes more disruptions

(MENAFN) Michigan is facing another storm that has brought freezing rain and strong winds, posing a new challenge for crews trying to restore power to thousands of customers who have been without electricity for days. The two largest utilities in the state, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, reported that over 130,000 customers were still without power by evening. Consumers Energy reported an additional 50,000 outages on their outage map, hours after stating that the end of last week's storm was in sight. According to a spokesperson for Consumers Energy, the new storm is affecting mid and northern Michigan counties with ice, freezing rain, and strong wind gusts.

While Michigan battles the new storm, blizzard warnings have been issued for the Sierra Nevada range in California as more rounds of rain and snow move in. On the other hand, tornadoes and powerful winds swept through parts of the Southern Plains, causing at least one fatality in Oklahoma.

Last week, Michigan faced its worst power outage crisis in years, with over 800,000 outages due to rain turning to ice, which brought down tree limbs and power lines. However, even after five days, some residents, like Jo Ann Davis in Livingston County, are still waiting for the lights to come back on. The lack of electricity has caused her more problems than just the absence of lights and appliances. Davis and her husband Tim rely on a well at their home, which needs electricity to pump water into the house. Consequently, they have been unable to take a shower, making the situation even more difficult.

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