About 70 people affected by the March ice storms gathered in Gaylord last night to share their stories with the Michigan Public Service Commission.
The three-member board is in charge of regulating many of the utility companies whose customers lost power during the storms. Residents from Otsego County and beyond called for better communication, more reimbursement and improved infrastructure.
As the storm swept across northern-lower Michigan, more than an inch and a half of ice collected on tree branches, power lines, homes and vehicles.
“I have huge trees that were right next to my house, and they were crashing down on top,” said Otsego County resident Kim Young, recalling the destruction. “In the night, when it was pitch black, you don't know where it’s coming from. You just hear it, crack, crack, smash!”
Young told the commission she had to shelter at a local church after it dropped to below freezing temperatures in her home. She said the fallen trees left 13 holes in her roof.
“I’m still fighting with insurance companies about it,” she said.
The storm also caused catastrophic damage to power grids, leaving almost all customers in the affected area without power — over 100,000 people.
“Fear was the underlying emotion for everyone. Not being able to communicate, to look at your cell phone to send somebody a text — zero communication was extremely frightening.”Tracy Renkiewicz, Lewiston resident
While utility companies sent out press releases and updated outage maps, some residents said it was of little use since there was no Wi-Fi, cell signal and few public places to check the internet.
“Fear was the underlying emotion for everyone,” said Tracy Renkiewicz. “Not being able to communicate, to look at your cell phone to send somebody a text — zero communication was extremely frightening.”
Renkiewicz, a retired teacher from Lewiston, said she drove over 25 miles a day to an area where she had cell signal. She had to drive past fallen trees, power lines and other debris that covered main roads.
“But I was one of the lucky ones,” she said.
Renkiewicz also spoke about families that didn’t have any disposable income to replace spoiled food, clear debris or repair damage to their homes.
According to state law, investor-owned utility companies are required to reimburse customers $40 for each day they were without power.
Some residents said utility companies should be required to go beyond that and reimburse expenses for gas to run generators, the cost of spoiled food and more.
“The pictures just did not do it justice,” Renkiewicz said. “The children that I taught, their families are in desperate, desperate financial need.”
Residents were also frustrated over how much energy infrastructure was destroyed during the storm. This sparked a back-and-forth over what it would take to bury some of northern Michigan’s power lines, which would protect them from extreme weather and fallen trees.
MPSC officials said it’s an expensive process that’s especially challenging in rural communities.
Julie Marlette, who lives in Chester Township, said the investment is worth it to avoid another mass power outage.
“There's more in life than being cost effective. There's the right thing to do," Marlette said. “When you face something that’s so catastrophic … we have to think differently and learn new things from this.”
MPSC Chair Dan Scripps said the board has held listening sessions after major disasters to get ideas on how to improve the state's response.
“The best ideas that we get typically come from the people who have experienced the challenges most directly and tonight was an example of that,” he said.
Scripps said he already seems some opportunities for improvement in the event of future ice storms.
"One thing I think was clear from this ice storm is that they way utilities coordinated wasn't as strong as it could have been," he said. "How do we make sure if we have different utilities and even different business models, working together to get customers back online?"
But putting ideas into regulatory action isn’t easy.
For one, the commission doesn’t have as much oversight for energy co-ops like Cloverland Electric and Presque Isle Electric and Gas. Those companies had 33,000 customers lose power.
When it comes to burying power lines, Scripps said the MPSC is looking into where it would make the most sense with cost-benefit analyses.
"One thing I think was clear from this ice storm is that they way utilities coordinated wasn't as strong as it could have been. How do we make sure if we have different utilities and even different business models, working together to get customers back online?"Dan Scripps, chair, Michigan Public Service Commission
“If it's an area that's got a lot of farmland, not a lot of trees, then maybe under-grounding doesn't make as much sense,” he said. “But if you're looking at an area where you're still going to have to make significant expenditures from tree trimming, that can change the calculus.”
On the topic of better communication, commissioners agreed they’ll continue to work with utility companies to improve outage maps.
Scripps said ice storms are among the most challenging severe weather to respond to. Accurately predicting how long an outage will last, he says, is the most important piece of information for customers.
“Being able to have access to some level of information about what the outlook is helps to inform how different people make decisions about what they might do,” he said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer requested federal disaster aid earlier this month. This could unlock millions of dollars in federal aid for the 12 impacted counties if approved by President Donald Trump.
The state found ice storm damage to public resources cost around $137 million. That number does not factor in the cost of damage to private homes and property.
Scripps said federal disaster aid could help reimburse costs that utilities took on to restore power, repair private property damage and cover the emergency response.
"There are a lot of different pieces to that puzzle, but my hope is that we'll get the federal funding, and that will certainly go a long way," he said.
