Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

UPDATE:

Consumers Energy is postponing an upgrade of its power outage system (see original message below) due to the potential for high winds in parts of Michigan overnight and tomorrow morning. A storm could bring wind gusts above 40 mph to West and Northern Michigan. Consumers Energy decided to postpone the upgrade to ensure customers remain fully informed in case of power outages. New timing for the upgrade will be announced and communicated to the public at a later date. We thank customers for their patience.



Orginal:

Consumers Energy plans to upgrade its electric outage system from 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, until as late as 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19. Customers will be asked to call Consumers Energy directly if they lose power or have any other issues during that time. The company needs to take this step to improve the system that tracks customer outage information.

Customers will not be able to access information on our outage map, receive outage alerts or get outage information from any of our systems during this time. If customers lose power during the time frame, they should contact Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.

Consumers Energy customer service representatives and crews will be working and will be available to help customers with any needs.

“We want to thank our customers in advance for their patience. We are working to provide world-class service, and this upgrade will help us create a better system that continues to provide real-time information to the public 24/7/365,” said Aaron Rajda, Consumers Energy’s vice president and chief digital officer.

Consumers Energy is informing community and public safety officials in advance, and will provide updates for customers on the online outage map and other company websites while the outage system is being upgraded.

Consumers Energy will monitor the weather, as always, and will reschedule the upgrade only if there is a forecast for severe storms.