More than 30,100 Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) customers remained without electricity on Saturday following a series of deadly storms. The weather events, which began on August 11, resulted in at least seven deaths, displaced approximately 1,000 people, and caused widespread flooding across northwest Indiana.
The outages began during a period of record rainfall that initially left 374,500 NIPSCO customers without power. In Gary, Indiana, more than half of the city's residents lost electricity. Gary Mayor Eddie Milton stated he intends to demand greater accountability from the utility provider regarding its emergency management and infrastructure maintenance.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun requested an expedited major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Thursday for 54 counties. Governor Braun estimated that losses from the storms and subsequent flooding could exceed $5 billion. If approved, the declaration would authorize federal resources to assist with state recovery efforts.
A class-action lawsuit was filed this week against NIPSCO, alleging the utility failed to proactively trim vegetation near power lines. The plaintiffs claim downed trees were the primary cause of the outages. NIPSCO issued a statement disputing these claims, noting that its spending on vegetation management has more than doubled since 2016.
The scale of the disaster is measured at $5 billion in estimated losses across 54 counties. For the utility customers affected, the event resulted in a total loss of electrical service for over 10% of the state's population at the height of the storm. The long-term impact on household finances remains unclear, as residents deal with the costs of property damage and the loss of perishable food during outages that have lasted over a week.
The legal action sets a precedent for how utility companies may be held liable for storm-related infrastructure failure. If the FEMA disaster declaration is granted, it will trigger the release of federal funds for public and individual assistance. Future policy discussions in Indiana are expected to focus on utility accountability and emergency management protocols, according to Mayor Milton. A specific date for the FEMA decision or the next court hearing for the class-action lawsuit was not reported.