CHARLEVOIX — After several long days without electricity following a severe ice storm, the lights are finally starting to come back on in Charlevoix.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, the city began re-energizing its electric grid, starting with the North Substation shortly after 12:30 p.m. City manager Mark Heydlauff confirmed that power was restored to key buildings — including city hall — by about 1:35 p.m.
“Things were good around 12:35, and they were able to start re-energizing the North Substation,” Heydlauff said. “By 1:30, they flipped the switch to bring the first circuit up — and we saw places like city hall come back on.”
Heydlauff said utility crews confirmed the North Substation was functioning normally by early afternoon and were in the process of energizing the South Substation, which powers the remaining circuits in the city. As of 2:45 p.m., some customers remained without power, but full restoration was underway.
“We don’t know exactly which customers are still out, but we’re confident our circuit systems are able to be re-energized,” he said. “We expect the rest of the city to come back online over the next few hours.”
Why it takes time
The process of restoring electricity isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Crews first had to warm up the substations and ensure their internal control systems — powered by backup batteries — were operational.
“Our crews have been running generators to recharge those backup batteries, which control the whole substation system,” Heydlauff said. “Once everything’s charged, they have to bring circuits online one at a time, letting each one stabilize before moving to the next.”
He likened the process to managing water flow, saying electricity has to “work itself out” circuit by circuit, with timing and load distribution carefully managed to avoid system failure.
More: Live: Power slowly returning across Northern Michigan following ice storm
A case for tree trimming
Heydlauff also pointed out the significance of tree clearing efforts around substations — something not always popular with residents.
“For anyone who’s questioned why we cut trees around the substations — the last five days are Exhibit A,” he said. “We get complaints that it doesn’t look nice, but this is exactly why we need to do it. One branch in the wrong place can mean days without power.”
Still work to do
While the city’s infrastructure is now able to accept and distribute power, Heydlauff cautioned that not every home or business may be back online immediately.
“There are still going to be individual outages,” he said. “It could be a tree on a service line or other localized damage. But the core system is up and functioning — and that’s a huge step forward.”
The city encourages residents who are still without power by this evening to contact the electric department for follow-up.
— Contact reporter Annie Doyle at 231-675-0099 and adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Charlevoix begins power restoration after several days in the dark
Reporting by Annie Doyle, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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