(Merrillville, IN) - NIPSCO says the number of power outages from Tuesday’s storm is the most ever in the history of the utility company.

 

According to NIPSCO, over 300,000 of the utility company’s 500,000 customers throughout northern Indiana were without service at one point.

 

Currently, the number of outages stands at over 270,000 with over 15,000 of those remaining in NIPSCO’S La Porte service territory and more than 9,000 in the Michigan City area.

 

“Crews continue to work around the clock to assess damage, repair critical infrastructure, and restore service safely. While thousands of customers have been restored since the storm, the unprecedented extent of the damage means restoration progress may vary by community,” NIPSCO said.

 

Before power can be restored to individual neighborhoods, NIPSCO said crews must first repair major transmission and distribution facilities that serve large numbers of customers. As those repairs are completed, restoration efforts are expected to gain momentum.

 

Overnight, crews focused on responding to safety hazards, clearing downed trees, repairing critical infrastructure, assessing damage, and preparing work locations for restoration activities today. Much of this work is required before larger numbers of customers can be safely restored.

 

Restoration times are not yet available as damage assessments continue.

 

“This is the largest outage event in NIPSCO's history, affecting approximately 60% of our electric customers at its peak and causing extensive damage throughout the electric system,” NIPSCO said.