ALPENA POWER COMPANY
401 N. Ninth Ave
Alpena, Michigan 49707
For Immediate Release
April 5, 2025
3:00 PM
Contact: Ken Dragiewicz
President and COO
Current Situation
As of 3:00 p.m. today, 86% of our customers are back in service leaving approximately 2,400 customers without power. Continuous progress has been made. In some areas we are moving into the last phase of our restoration process, restoring service drops to individual homes.
As we move into the last phase of restoration we have been receiving many calls on service equipment on a home, such as who is responsible for which equipment, how do I get my service repaired, and what happens to the debris left behind on my property.
Service Equipment
There are two primary types of services for a residence, overhead or underground. Most of the damage from the recent storm has been to overhead services so this will address questions regarding overhead only.
In an overhead service Alpena Power’s responsibility includes:
• Overhead Lines, including the wires running from one utility pole to another utility pole
• Service Drop, which is the cable that runs from the utility pole to the point where it connects to the service entrance conductors at your house
• Electric Meter, the device that plugs into the meter socket and measures electric consumption
Homeowner’s responsibility includes:
• Service Mast or Riser, the pole-like structure that the service drop connects to
• Weather head, the point where the service drop connects to the service entrance cable
• Service Entrance Cable or Drip Loop, the cables which run from the weather head to the meter base and continue to the service panel in your home
• Meter Enclosure, the box mounded on the residence that the electric meter plugs into
A typical overhead service is illustrated below:
What happens if my Electric Service is damaged?
If your electric service is damaged, contact Alpena Power and we will dispatch a crew as soon as possible to ensure the service is safe. In this storm there were hundreds of damaged services and that takes time for our crews to get to each one. Until the utility has inspected a downed wire, treat per the safety tips below.
If you can see visible damage to your service equipment such as a bent riser pipe, broken attachment, or if the service is torn off the residence completely, a qualified person will need to make repairs. Alpena Power strongly recommends you contact a licensed electrician to make the repairs, they have extensive knowledge of the electrical code and can help to expedite materials and required inspections.
Once repairs are completed the electrician will be in contact with the electrical inspector who will provide approval to Alpena Power to reconnect and energize the service.
Who is going to clean up the tree debris in my yard?
During a storm our goal is to restore as many customers as quickly as possible. If we cut a tree off a power line or remove branches that have fallen on a service, we will leave them behind and they are the property owners’ responsibility to clean up.
To assist property owners, the City of Alpena will be performing brush pickup, details of which can be found in the City’s press release, located here:
https://www.alpena.mi.us/news_detail_T6_R755.php
What if Utility crews have damaged my yard?
During restoration, our crew’s focus is safety and restoration. This sometimes results in property damage, such as large ruts in a grass yard. Alpena Power will address the property damage; we just ask that customers wait until the power outage restoration is complete to contact Alpena Power. We can then inspect the property and work with landowners to restore any damage.
Safety Tips
Safety of our customers is a top priority. Please keep the following in mind.
• If using a generator, ensure they are connected properly and legally with a transfer switch so they cannot back feed into the power lines and cause danger to our crews or the public.
• Always operate a generator outdoors in a well-ventilated space
• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed wires and anything they are touching, keep children or pets away. Report the issue by calling 9-1-1 and Alpena Power Company at (989) 358-4900
• Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can safely go past our workers on the roadside.
• Turn main breakers off if there is standing water anywhere near electrical devices
How to check on an outage
One tool that can help keep you informed is our webpage outage viewer available at: https://www.alpenapower.com/outage-center/. A customer can zoom into their location and see if their outage has been reported. If you are in a reported area, we have the outage information and will get a crew dispatched as soon as one is available.
What if I need assistance?
If you need assistance, the Alpena County Department of Emergency Management has a resource page which lists resources available. It can be found at:
https://www.alpenacounty.org/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=ICE-STORM-COMMUNITY-RESOURCES-5
Summary
We have now passed the 1-week mark since the onset of the storm. Restoration efforts will continue throughout the weekend and may, for a few customers, continue into early next week. We will continue to utilize all available resources until every customer’s power is restored.
