Indiana lawmakers holding hearing into weeks-long power outage after August derecho

Indiana legislators plan to fulfill their promise to investigate NIPSCO's response to the derecho back on Aug. 11.

The storm left hundreds of thousands without power, and some of them were in the dark for weeks.

In Gary, there were countless stories of people who dealt for two weeks with spoiled food, hot weather, and cold showers because of power outages. For some, problems continued even after the lights finally came back on.

"We were not as aware, I think, until we opened this center of the mold issue. of how many people are having to deal with that," said Indiana Department of Homeland Security Director of Emergency Management Mary Moran.

Indiana legislators will hear from residents at a special hearing in Indianapolis at 9 a.m. 

Democrats urged the Indiana House Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications to meet after power outages from the derecho stretched into their second week. The Democratic lawmakers, along with Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, continue to question how NIPSCO handled the situation.

Last week, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission formally launched an investigation into NIPSCO, ordered by Gov. Braun.

NIPSCO has said the storm outage last month was the largest in its history. A town hall meeting held last week in Gary was organized by local groups. No NIPSCO representatives were present.  

CBS News Chicago got a peek at the presentations planned for Tuesday morning. None of them are from NIPSCO, but Purdue University researchers will talk about the likelihood that the region will see more derechos.

The threat highlights the need to trim trees and bury power lines when possible.

Some Northwest Indiana legislators are frustrated that the special hearing is not taking place in their part of the state.