3:00 pm – Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op (PIE&G) has restored electricity to all but 7 individual services this afternoon. Although 36 broken poles have already been replaced, at least 20 more have been identified for replacement. Cleanup will continue over the next several months as system damage is assessed, additional repairs are made and fallen trees are removed.
All but 300 of the approximately 23,100 services affected during the Christmas Eve wind storm were back on by Monday evening, December 28. A winter storm that night dropped a foot of snow in the region, causing around 500 new outages. By early afternoon Wednesday, December 30, approximately100 services were predicted to be without power. These remaining services were mostly widespread individual outages and many were at seasonal residences, including some on Bois Blanc Island.
By early Wednesday morning, December 30, the weather had improved enough for the trip by the only ferry to Bois Blanc Island. PIE&G linemen had the tree and line damage cleared and power restored on the east end of the island by 1 pm. The island’s west end experienced more severe wind and tree damage. It was necessary to cut and remove over 30 trees from the lines and most only accessible via snowmobile. The linemen worked until 1 a.m. and finished restorations on the west end this morning before returning to the mainland on the last ferry trip of the season.
PIE&G appreciates the patience of members following the storms as its personnel worked throughout the Christmas holiday, weekend and this week to make repairs and restorations.
Members are cautioned to stay away from downed power lines and report them immediately to PIE&G at 1 (800) 423-6634.
