Planned Power Outages Scheduled for Holly Township

(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 17, 2024)

Holly, MI – Consumers Energy is working on electric grid maintenance in Holly Township and will be having two planned power outages to complete the work. The outages also include parts of Groveland and Springfield Townships, according to maps released by Holly Township Thursday. The maps do not include the Village of Holly as originally reported by local officials.

Village of Holly Police Chief Jerry Narsh shared information about the plans, posting on social media:

There is considerable concern within the Holly area community about a scheduled electric service outage within the Village and Township of Holly. With so much misinformation, a major concern is the level of notification that was provided to the community.

The Consumers Power after-hours supervisor has recently confirmed the following information –

* Consumers Power has a planned electric power outage for 2,670 customers in Holly Village and Township effective Friday, October 18, 2024, beginning at 11 pm until 7 am Saturday morning and again on Friday, October 25, 2024, at 11 pm to 7 am Saturday morning for power system maintenance.

* The 2,670 customers include Village and Township residents and businesses. When asked for a map of specific areas of outages, we were advised that they are unable to provide that.

* The Consumers Supervisor stated that every affected customer received a post card (see attached) one month ago advising them of the planned systems maintenance outage. They also stated that this was the only notice they provided to affected customers.

* The Consumers Power Supervisor stated they did not notify the Holly Village Office, Holly Township Office or the Holly police department of this planned outage, only the affected customers.

Your frustration is ours as well. We are still trying to determine if the affected area will include our water / sewer plant and associated sewer lift stations.

If you received a postcard, you will be affected by the power outage.

Consumers Energy has information for those impacted by a planned outage, shared both on social media and on their website:

Hey, Consumers Energy! I just got a postcard about a planned electrical outage in my area. What’s up with that?

Sometimes we need to turn off electricity to make system improvements, repair ongoing problems or even add new customers. Unlike an outage caused by a storm or other weather event, planned outages are just that – planned. We know it’s inconvenient to have your power out, so we typically schedule these outages seven to ten days in advance and work hard to keep them as brief as possible.

Why would you plan to shut off my power?

We schedule these electrical outages to perform work that helps avoid future unplanned service interruptions. Some of the reasons we might need to shut off your electricity to perform work include:

System reliability improvements—this involves work on things like substations, line sensors, poles and transformers.

Preventive maintenance – replacing fuses, poles and even the wires themselves to fix potential problems before they happen.

Forestry work – sometimes it’s necessary to power down a wire to perform tree trimming safely.

Storm repairs – during a storm outage we’re working to get the power back on as quickly as possible, but sometimes we need to come back to do additional work for a more permanent fix.

Adding electrical service – either adding a new customer or upgrading service for an existing customer.

Infrastructure projects – think road work or another service company who uses our poles, for example a cable company or internet provider.

What can I expect?

We’ll send you a postcard a few days in advance letting you know the date and the expected time window of the outage. We’re continually working on improving our timing and duration forecasts, but like any good plan, things do come up. For that reason, we also include a include a backup date in case of weather concerns or other delays.

Because we know having no electricity is a hassle, we work hard to minimize the length of outages and the number of customers affected. When the outage ends, we’ll turn your electricity back on and you can resume your normal life.

How can I prepare for a planned outage?

Make sure your cell phone is fully charged.

Unplug sensitive electronics like TVs or computers.

Shut off any heat-producing appliances such as stoves, toasters or curling irons in case the power is restored while you’re away.

If electricity is required to run your well, fill some buckets in advance to use for flushing your toilet.

Don’t open your fridge or freezer during the outage.

For residential customers, let everyone in your household know. For businesses, notify your employees and customers if they will be affected.

If you see our crews working, remember to slow down and go around.

We’re in This Together

You can count on us to prepare our systems for the long haul. Our team is working hard to ensure your energy stays reliable, safe and affordable. We strive to keep you informed of planned outages, keep them as short as possible and minimize the number of customers affected. Thanks for your patience! Learn more at https://force4michigan.com/hey-consumers-energy-whats-up-with-planned-outages/

NOTE: This story was updated Thursday evening after maps were provided. We’ll continue to update if more information becomes available.