Frustration mounts for thousands still without power after deadly Indiana storms

Frustration is mounting for thousands of residents in northwest Indiana who are still without electricity following a series of powerful storms that began on August 11. The severe weather left a trail of destruction, killing at least seven people and displacing around 1,000 individuals. In Gary, a city where about one in three residents live in poverty, more than half of the population lost power.

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It's been absolutely horrible. At night we're sweating, we're irritable, we have children to look out for, elderly people who need electricity for oxygen tanks.

Residents like Shatiya Hardin describe the situation as "absolutely horrible," enduring sweltering nights and the challenges of caring for children and elderly individuals who rely on electricity for medical equipment like oxygen tanks. The prolonged outages have plunged streets into darkness, creating safety concerns. "It's not OK for us to continually be in survival mode," Hardin stated, highlighting the lack of reliable service in affected areas.

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It's not OK for us to continually be in survival mode. We don't have service in this area at all whatsoever. At night, the streets, the roads, everything is pitch black besides the lights from the cars.

As of Saturday, August 22, over 30,100 customers of Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) remained without power, a significant reduction from the 374,500 customers initially affected. Indiana Governor Mike Braun has requested an expedited major disaster declaration from FEMA, estimating storm-related losses could exceed $5 billion, which would provide crucial resources for recovery.

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If granted, this declaration will mean significantly more resources to accelerate Indiana's recovery from the recent severe weather.

Amidst the ongoing crisis, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against NIPSCO. The suit alleges that the company's failure to proactively manage vegetation near power lines was the primary cause of the widespread outages due to downed trees. NIPSCO disputes these claims, asserting that its vegetation management spending has more than doubled since 2016. Gary Mayor Eddie Milton expressed a need for greater accountability from the utility company, stating, "But going back to the utility side, what I'm going to encourage and demand is that we start having more accountability."

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We strongly disagree with the characterization of NIPSCO's vegetation management practices.