Overview
- A powerful derecho on Aug. 11 produced winds near 99 mph and toppled poles and trees across Northwest Indiana, cutting electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers.
- NIPSCO says about 99% of service has been restored but roughly 100 to 200 homes and businesses in Gary and nearby communities still lack power as of Aug. 31.
- Governor Mike Braun and FEMA officials visited Gary this week, opened mobile disaster centers, and secured a federal major disaster declaration that makes individual grants and aid available.
- NIPSCO has told homeowners it cannot safely reconnect service until damaged weatherheads and other customer-side equipment are repaired, and the City of Gary has launched a fund to help pay for those repairs.
- Local leaders and residents point to decades of disinvestment and aging equipment as factors in prolonged outages, and state-ordered investigations and regulator scrutiny now focus on NIPSCO’s vegetation management, maintenance and storm-readiness.