Energy co-ops report significant progress in restoring power across region, working in many remote areas
BOYNE CITY, Mich. and ONAWAY, Mich. – Great Lakes Energy (GLE) and Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-Op (PIE&G) expect to have power restored to most of their members in the coming days as crews continue making progress rebuilding lines, making repairs and clearing debris after the recent ice storm caused catastrophic damage across rural areas of Northern Michigan.
GLE expects to have power fully restored to the vast majority of members by Sunday, April 13, after crews made headway earlier this week on rebuilding core infrastructure and getting main power lines back online. Work is now focused on reaching those residences located in very remote areas across the region that can be difficult to access.
“Our team has been working diligently in some hard-to-reach areas to ensure our members have power restored as soon as possible,” said Shaun Lamp, president & CEO of GLE. “These crew members have shown incredible tenacity and grit to make critical fixes to our grid that suffered catastrophic damage in the recent devastating ice storm.”
PIE&G crews had to rebuild its core infrastructure after the storm knocked out power to its entire membership, a first in the company’s history. The co-op said its members should expect to have power restored by Monday, April 14, except for those seasonal residences that currently remain inaccessible because of downed trees or other storm damage.
“You have to see the damage caused by this storm to believe it — you cannot go a couple of miles without having to make a repair or a complete replacement,” said Allan Berg, PIE&G CEO. “That’s what makes our recovery efforts incredibly difficult. Our teams are fixing miles of wires, repairing more than a thousand poles, and they’re in remote areas with trees and dense forests.”
Both GLE and PIE&G are deeply appreciative of the support they continue to receive from elected leaders and state officials, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and House Speaker Matt Hall, who visited Washington, D.C., this week to advocate for resources for recovery efforts at a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
GLE restoration progress as of Thursday, April 10:
- 93% of GLE members now have power (3,470 members restored on Wednesday)
- replaced 1,789 total poles since March 31
- restored 3,410 line miles impacted
- coordinated more than 1,100 vehicles and equipment
- coordinated 1,208 line workers and more than 250 tree workers in the field to restore power
PIE&G restoration progress as of Thursday, April 10:
- 72% of PIE&G members now have power (25,211 members restored so far)
- replaced 1,144 broken poles
- restored 1,263 miles of line
- coordinated 360 crews and 1,293 personnel in the field to restore power
Visit gtlakes.com/power-outages and pieg.com/spring-2025-storm-updates for updates.
