Indiana Families Endure Powerful Crisis After Nine Days Without Electricity

Thousands across northwest Indiana remain in the dark after a devastating storm shattered parts of the electrical grid, leaving families searching for food, power, answers and relief.

For thousands of Indiana power outage victims, losing electricity has become far more than an inconvenience. Families in Gary and other northwest Indiana communities have spent more than nine days without reliable power after a destructive Aug. 11 storm brought winds approaching 100 mph, toppled trees and severely damaged the region’s electrical system. What began as a weather emergency has become a prolonged human hardship involving spoiled food, closed schools, lost wages, health risks and growing frustration over how long restoration is taking.

As of Thursday morning, Aug. 20, NIPSCO reported roughly 63,500 to 68,000 customers still without electricity across northwest Indiana, depending on the time of the update. More than 300,000 customers had already had service restored. Gary remained among the hardest-hit communities, and some residents were being told full restoration might not come until Tuesday, Aug. 25.

For a family sitting in a dark home after more than a week, however, percentages offer little comfort.

What Caused the Massive Indiana Power Outage?

The crisis began Aug. 11 when an intense line of severe thunderstorms swept through the Midwest.

In northwest Indiana, wind gusts reached about 99 mph, powerful enough to topple mature trees, snap utility poles and tear apart sections of the electrical distribution and transmission system. At one point, more than 300,000 Indiana customers were without electricity. Reuters reported that Indiana had more than 215,000 customers without power during one snapshot of the regional emergency, with NIPSCO suffering particularly severe damage.

This was not simply a case of a few electrical wires falling across neighborhood streets.

NIPSCO has said the damage was widespread and unprecedented. According to reporting by The Associated Press, repairs included replacing approximately 300 utility poles and 44 transmission poles. More than 600 lineworkers were involved in restoration efforts.

That helps explain why some communities have waited so long.

Why Can’t Crews Just Turn the Power Back On?

Electrical restoration after a catastrophic storm happens in stages.

Crews first have to identify damaged transmission lines, substations, poles and local distribution circuits. Major transmission infrastructure generally must be repaired before electricity can reliably move into neighborhoods.

Then crews work down the system toward smaller groups of customers.

In some areas, that means replacing equipment rather than simply reconnecting a wire.

When hundreds of poles are broken and trees are tangled in electrical lines, each repair can require specialized equipment, replacement materials, tree removal and multiple crews.

NIPSCO’s restoration schedule for Gary has extended to 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, though individual neighborhoods may regain electricity sooner.

Gary Has Been Hit Especially Hard

Gary has become one of the clearest examples of the storm’s unequal human impact.

Nearly 25,000 customers in the city were still without electricity in one Aug. 20 report. Earlier in the outage, more than 34,000 Gary customers were without power.

Mayor Eddie Melton publicly expressed frustration over the length of the outage and the information residents were receiving.

He told public radio that residents had gone “over nine days, 10 days” without electricity and said the prolonged disruption was particularly difficult for senior citizens, families and people with medical conditions.

The mayor also said he pressed NIPSCO for clearer restoration estimates specifically for Gary.

That frustration deserves to be understood.

When someone has been without power for nine days, the question is no longer simply, “When will my lights come back on?”

It becomes:

• How will I keep my medicine cold?

• Where can I charge my phone?

• Can I afford to replace a refrigerator full of food?

• How do I wash clothes?

• Where can my children go while school is closed?

• Can I still get to work?

• How much longer can my family afford this?

Residents Describe Life in “Survival Mode”

The Associated Press described tens of thousands of northwest Indiana residents as living in “survival mode.”

People have thrown away spoiled groceries, lined up for hot meals, searched for functioning laundromats and Wi-Fi, and looked for places where they could charge phones. Community organizations have distributed food, diapers, bottled water and other basic supplies.

For lower-income households, replacing spoiled groceries can be a serious financial blow.

For older adults and people who rely on electrically powered medical equipment, the risks can be much more serious.

Indiana University Indianapolis professor Courtney Page-Tan, who studies community resilience, warned that prolonged outages can increase health dangers. Improperly operated generators can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, medical equipment can lose power, and refrigerated food can become unsafe.

“Nine days is a long time for a community to be without power,” Page-Tan told the Associated Press.

Schools and Businesses Are Feeling the Damage

The blackout has also disrupted education.

Gary’s school district, which serves roughly 4,300 students, remained closed after the storm, leaving parents to juggle childcare, work and an uncertain school schedule while many homes still lacked electricity.

Businesses have suffered as well.

Joslyn Kelly, owner of J’s Breakfast Club in Gary, told Business Insider that her restaurant went without power for eight days. She estimated losing about $19,000 in sales and said business had fallen by roughly 90 percent during the disruption.

Kelly improvised an outdoor cooking setup so she could continue serving some customers and helping the community. Electricity was finally restored to the restaurant on Aug. 20.

Multiply similar losses across restaurants, salons, grocery stores and other small businesses, and the economic cost becomes substantial.

Why Is Gary Taking Longer Than Some Other Communities?

This question has understandably generated anger.

Gary is a predominantly Black city with significant economic challenges, and some residents have questioned whether their community received the same urgency as wealthier areas.

That concern deserves to be reported rather than dismissed.

At the same time, I found no verified evidence establishing that NIPSCO deliberately delayed Gary’s restoration because of race or income.

NIPSCO has said restoration priorities are based on the location and severity of electrical-system damage rather than neighborhood demographics. The utility points to the extensive destruction of poles, transmission structures and other infrastructure in the Gary and Lake County area.

A lawsuit filed this week, however, is raising a different question.

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges NIPSCO failed to adequately address foreseeable vulnerabilities before the storm, contributing to unnecessary outages. Those are allegations, not proven findings, and NIPSCO had not immediately responded to that lawsuit when WTTW reported on it Friday.

Those claims will have to be tested through the legal process.

A Shooting Briefly Interrupted Restoration Work

Another complication occurred in Gary when a vehicle being used by NIPSCO crews was struck by gunfire during overnight restoration work.

The utility temporarily paused field restoration activities in the city while officials coordinated security arrangements with law enforcement.

Crews resumed work later that day.

The incident was serious, but it should not be used to stereotype Gary residents or suggest that the entire delay was caused by public safety concerns. The far larger problem remains extensive storm damage to the electrical system.

What Is Being Done to Restore Power?

NIPSCO has brought in crews from outside the region and says workers are repairing damaged infrastructure around the clock.

By Aug. 20, the utility reported restoring electricity to more than 306,000 customers since the storm began, while tens of thousands remained out.

Restoration efforts include:

1. Rebuilding damaged transmission infrastructure.

2. Replacing hundreds of broken utility poles.

3. Removing trees and debris interfering with electrical equipment.

4. Repairing neighborhood distribution lines.

5. Bringing in hundreds of additional lineworkers and contractors.

6. Operating community support locations offering meals, water, phone charging and customer assistance.

The scale of that work explains part of the delay. It does not erase the hardship residents are experiencing.

Both realities can be true.

What Has the Trump Administration Done?

President Donald Trump approved a Presidential Emergency Declaration for Indiana on Aug. 15, four days after the severe weather began.

The approval came after Indiana Gov. Mike Braun requested federal assistance through FEMA.

Trump’s declaration authorized FEMA to coordinate federal disaster relief efforts in dozens of Indiana counties, including Lake County, where Gary is located.

Under the declaration, FEMA can identify and mobilize equipment and other federal resources needed to address the emergency. Eligible emergency protective measures receive 75 percent federal funding, and the emergency declaration can provide up to approximately $5 million in federal assistance.

Federal assistance can support operations such as:

• Emergency supplies

• Sheltering and evacuations

• Medical transportation

• Moving emergency equipment

• Water rescues

• Flood response

• Emergency access

• Some costs associated with speeding emergency power-restoration activities

Braun said after speaking with Trump that he was grateful the president moved quickly on the state’s request.

“I spoke with President Trump today about the devastation we’re seeing across Indiana,” Braun said.

What Federal Aid Does Not Do

It is important to be precise about what the Trump administration’s action means.

The emergency declaration does not transfer control of NIPSCO’s electrical grid to FEMA, nor does it mean federal employees are personally reconnecting individual homes.

NIPSCO remains responsible for repairing its power infrastructure.

The federal government is helping support the broader emergency response and can reimburse or provide certain eligible resources.

So it would be inaccurate either to say the Trump administration has done nothing or to suggest that the president can simply order Gary’s electricity switched back on.

The administration approved federal emergency assistance requested by Indiana. The physical reconstruction of the damaged electrical network remains primarily a utility restoration operation.

An Emergency That Is About People, Not Just Numbers

Power restoration statistics can make this crisis sound mechanical: 300 poles, 44 transmission poles, 306,500 customers restored.

But behind each number is a household.

There is a parent trying to keep milk cold for a child.

There is an older resident worried about medication.

There is a restaurant owner watching income disappear.

There is a worker trying to find clean clothes and charge a phone before another shift.

And there are thousands of children whose classrooms have been closed while their families wait for life to return to something resembling normal.

NIPSCO has made substantial progress, and federal, state, local and community organizations are now involved in the response. But for a family entering a second week without electricity, restoration cannot come soon enough.

The immediate priority must be finishing the repairs safely and quickly. After the lights return, Indiana officials, utility regulators and NIPSCO should conduct a transparent review of why the system suffered such severe damage, whether infrastructure investments could have reduced the duration of the outage, and whether emergency communication worked equally well for every community.

Residents who endured this outage deserve more than electricity.

They deserve answers.