UPPCO THANKSGIVING STORM RESTORATION PROGRESS

Marquette – Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) continued to make progress in the Western Upper Peninsula overnight. Trees on lines, wires down, and broken poles continue to be the primary causes of remaining outages.

Throughout the storm, restoration efforts have focused on getting the largest number of customers restored as quickly as possible. With just under 400 customers remaining without power, UPPCO crews and contractors are positioned to make good progress today – focusing efforts in the Jacobsville and Rabbit Bay areas in Houghton County, and Medora Lake in Keweenaw County. Because of the remote nature of the remaining outages, circuits that are restored today may only be bringing a handful of customers back at a time, additional crews are dedicated to taking care of those as well.

“UPPCO’s service territory spans about 4,600 square miles with an average of twelve customers per square mile,” said Dan Freeborn, UPPCO’s Manager of Communications & External Affairs. “The further North and West you go, the terrain becomes much more rugged and remote, making this a challenging environment for fixing downed lines and broken poles – even when there aren’t blizzard conditions.”

UPPCO will continue to be in direct contact with emergency management officials in affected areas to provide updates. “We appreciate the continued support and understanding from local communities,” said Freeborn.

Customers are reminded never to approach or touch a downed power line or anything that may be in contact with one. Stay at least 35 feet away and call 9-1-1 immediately to report a downed line.

To report an outage, customers may call UPPCO’s Customer Care Center at (906) 449-2011, email customerservice@uppco.com, or access their online account at uppco.com.