FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 7, 2025
CONTACT: Dana Whyte, Byrum & Fisk Advocacy Communications, dwhyte@byrumfisk.com
Great Lakes Energy, Presque Isle Electric & Gas mark continued progress in restoring power to northern Michigan following historic ice storm
Service restored to Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, other businesses, key tower across region
BOYNE CITY, Mich. and ONAWAY, Mich. – Great Lakes Energy (GLE) and Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-Op (PIE&G) crews continue to make significant progress in efforts to rebuild lines and restore power to members across northern Michigan following the recent unprecedented ice storm that caused widespread and catastrophic damage in rural and remote areas.
With cold and snowy weather, GLE and PIE&G are closely monitoring changing conditions and prioritizing safety for all members and workers. The utilities are encouraging the use of warming shelters in the area for those who need them.
For a list of community resources, including warming shelters, visit the State of Michigan’s ice storm webpage.
GLE restoration progress as of Monday, April 7:
- 86% of GLE members now have power (1,303 members restored on Sunday)
- power has been restored to Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools in Otsego County
- service has been restored to a state tower in Grayling
- 965 total poles have been replaced
- This represents more poles replaced in a week than are typically replaced in a year’s time
- more than 60 transformers have been replaced
GLE is working diligently to restore power to the town of Johannesburg and the nearby resort area by M-32 and I-75 in Gaylord.
“We’re coordinating hundreds of workers and contractors across northern Michigan to ensure we get power back online to rural families following this catastrophic and unprecedented ice storm,” said Shaun Lamp, president & CEO of GLE. “Each day we get a get a little closer to our goal of bringing back power to 100% of our members and we will not stop until we achieve that goal and ensure all our members and communities are safe.”
PIE&G has made continued progress in the following areas as of Monday, April 7:
- 63% of PIE&G members now have power (currently restoring an average of 3,000 members per day)
- replaced a total of 750 broken poles
- This represents more poles replaced in a week than are typically replaced in a year’s time
- continued to clear roadways as well as fallen trees and limbs weakened by the storm
- restored 826 miles of line
- restored service to critical infrastructure
- restored power to Onaway Water Tower and the Atlanta Senior Center, as well as Atlanta Community Schools, Onaway Area Schools, Posen School District, Seventh Day Adventist School and Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools
- coordinated 331 crews and 1,200 personnel in the field to restore power
“In recent days we have been able to make progress rebuilding important infrastructure that allows us to deliver power to households,” said Allan Berg, PIE&G CEO. “With that work done, we’ll be able to move more quickly in coming days to restore power to families across our service area in northern Michigan. We will continue working closely with state and local officials, emergency management teams and other stakeholders to allow us to focus on the most important job and the one we know best: restoring power to our members.”
Visit gtlakes.com/power-outages and pieg.com/spring-2025-storm-updates for updates.
