More than a week after a powerful storm tore through northwest Indiana, tens of thousands of NIPSCO customers — many in Gary and surrounding Lake County — are still waiting for their lights to come back on, according to the Associated Press. Utility officials say full restoration in Gary isn’t expected until August 25.
The scale of the damage explains part of the delay. Company representatives told AP that roughly 300 power poles and 44 transmission poles need to be rebuilt after winds reportedly reached 99 mph — strong enough to be compared to a hurricane. At the outage’s peak, around 300,000 customers lost power.
For families still without electricity, the storm’s second wave of damage is showing up in freezers full of spoiled food, medications that need refrigeration, and homes without air conditioning during late-August heat. AP reported that at least one Lake County resident is driving across the state line into Illinois just to buy ice to keep insulin cold.
What Affected Households Can Do Right Now
If you’re one of the households still waiting on NIPSCO, a few practical steps can help limit the damage while you wait:
- File (and re-file) outage reports. Even if it feels repetitive, documented reports help utilities prioritize hard-hit blocks and can matter for any future claims.
- Protect medication that needs refrigeration. Insulin and similar medications can typically tolerate short periods without refrigeration, but check manufacturer guidance — many pharmacies will also store temperature-sensitive medication for free during outages.
- Use generators safely. Never run a generator indoors or in a garage, even with the door open — carbon monoxide risk is a leading cause of storm-related deaths. Only run generators with someone present to monitor them.
- Know your local cooling and charging centers. Community centers in Gary and other hard-hit areas have been offering hot meals and phone-charging stations — check city or county emergency management pages for current locations and hours.
- Track spoiled food for insurance or assistance claims. Photograph freezer and fridge contents before discarding them; some renters/homeowners insurance policies cover food loss from extended outages.
The Bigger Question
Gary officials and NIPSCO have pushed back on suggestions that lower-income neighborhoods are being deprioritized, framing the outage pattern as storm-damage-driven rather than economic. Still, for households now on their second or third day without power — some for the second time in a week — the frustration is less about the utility’s explanation and more about how much longer the wait will last.