The northwest Indiana power outage continues more than 10 days after the August 11 derecho, with Gary and Lake County communities reporting prolonged disruptions. NIPSCO crews are repairing damaged lines as transformer failures and blocked access slow restoration.
Gary and Lake County face prolonged outages
Thousands of residents across northwest Indiana remained without electricity more than 10 days after the August 11 derecho damaged power lines, trees and infrastructure. Gary and other Lake County communities continued to report food spoilage, dark streets and water problems.
In Gary, debris remained on streets while some households dealt with boil-water advisories, sewage backups and limited refrigeration. Drivers also faced roads where streetlights were not working. Residents said the prolonged outage created financial and safety concerns as families searched for generators, hotel rooms, food and clean water.
NIPSCO restoration slowed by new failures
The storm initially left more than 400,000 customers without power. By Friday morning, more than 40,000 customers in northwest Indiana were still affected, many of them in Lake County.
Restoration faced another setback Thursday when an electrical pole fire in Schererville brought down lines and caused transformer failures. More than 9,000 customers in Schererville, St. John, Dyer, Highland and nearby communities lost power, including some whose service had already returned.
Schools close as pressure grows on NIPSCO
Lake Central Schools closed Friday, one day after reopening. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun urged Northern Indiana Public Service Company, or NIPSCO, to accelerate restoration.
NIPSCO said more than 80% of affected customers had regained electricity and crews were inspecting more than 2,000 miles of power lines. Fallen trees blocked access in some areas. Gary, Munster and Highland could wait until Tuesday for full restoration.
Lawmakers seek review of storm response
State lawmakers said they expect a review of NIPSCO's storm response and restoration timeline. The prolonged outage has also renewed scrutiny of the utility following approval of a $257 million rate increase.
With thousands of customers still waiting for electricity, restoration work remains focused on damaged infrastructure, blocked access and equipment failures across northwest Indiana.
