Indiana power outages linger nearly two weeks after storm
Thousands of residents across northwestern Indiana remain without electricity nearly two weeks after an Aug. 11 storm with destructive winds. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said roughly 9,000 customers in his city still lacked power Aug. 23, while NIPSCO reported about 16,500 outages regionwide and targeted broader restoration in Gary and Portage by midnight Aug. 25.
Key Takeaways
- An Aug. 11 storm with winds of 70 mph to more than 100 mph left peak outages of about 374,500 across NIPSCO territory.
- Officials in Indiana, including Melton and Gov. Mike Braun, called multi-day restoration delays unacceptable.
- NIPSCO said mutual-aid crews are working and aimed for Munster restoration by midnight Aug. 24, then Gary and Portage by Aug. 25.
- Some homes need licensed electrician repairs to weatherheads before power can return, NIPSCO said.
- Residents have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging poor tree trimming; NIPSCO disputes the claims.
Why are so many Indiana homes still dark?
The storm swept northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana on Aug. 11, toppling trees and damaging homes and power lines. The National Weather Service preliminarily identified it as a derecho, with final analysis expected sometime in 2027. Multiple tornadoes were also confirmed, including two that crossed into Lake County from Illinois.
At the peak, NIPSCO reported 374,500 outages. By Aug. 23 the utility said nearly 16,500 accounts still had no power as of 4 p.m. CT. Melton said day 12 without electricity was too long for families, children, and businesses. For more coverage of emerging systems and resilience stories, see Future Tech & AI Wonders.
What is NIPSCO saying about restoration?
According to USA Today, NIPSCO said it has brought in contractor crews and mutual assistance partners, stating no outage is being overlooked. The company warned that community-wide target times are not exact restoration times for every home or business when localized damage is severe.
The Guardian reported that Gary outages fell from more than 14,500 on Sunday to 10,187 by Monday morning, and that about 700 lineworkers and 300 vegetation crews were working in the city. ComEd crews from Illinois have also been sent to help. Braun declared a statewide emergency Aug. 13 and said the Indiana National Guard and state agencies were clearing paths for utility crews, adding there is “no excuse for these delays.”
NWI Times reported another bottleneck: damage to a building’s weatherhead—the service entrance where utility wires meet customer equipment—can require a licensed electrician’s repairs before NIPSCO reconnects service. Property owners must clear that customer-owned damage; crews only fix utility-owned infrastructure.
How are Indiana residents and leaders responding?
Gary resident Denise Bairns said she was told power might not return until Sept. 12 and that “all we can do is pray.” Desmond Poppy described the community as “really under siege.” Melton called the pace unacceptable and said he is pressing NIPSCO to restore service before the end of Tuesday.
Residents filed a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing NIPSCO of failing to trim trees that later downed lines; attorney Otto Shragal called the situation “predictable” and “preventable.” NIPSCO denied the allegations and said vegetation management spending has more than doubled since 2016. Relief efforts in Gary have included city contractors for debris work and a supplies event backed by Keith Lee and Tyrese Haliburton totaling $30,000 in committed supplies, organizers said.