Mayor Eddie Melton says Gary, Indiana, is sussing out what led to extended power outage

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, a derecho with 99 mph winds created widespread damage and left hundreds of thousands in the dark.

Not a single block in Gary, Indiana, was spared, and some didn't get their power back for two weeks.

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said in the aftermath of the extended outage that just because the power is back on does not mean everything is back to normal.

Melton said the two weeks without power in Gary were "extremely tiring, somewhat frustrating for a lot of folks, but we're starting to move more towards the recovery phase right now."

Two weeks without power did not just mean no lights. For some, it cut off access to water and waste treatment, and it also posed a danger for those with medical needs such as pacemakers and oxygen tanks.

Earlier this month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, announced that federal disaster assistance is now available for the state of Indiana following severe storms. 

Individual assistance is now available through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security as part of the State Disaster Relief Fund. Folks impacted by this month's storms may qualify for emergency grants of up to $5,000.

Melton said the City of Gary is also partnering with the state to provide all the aid it can to residents. The city is also partnering with the Legacy Foundation, the community foundation for Lake County, Indiana, to collect donations for a fund for those who need to repair their weatherheads.

A weatherhead is a waterproof head or cap on the end of an electric conduit, allowing power lines to connect to a structure without anything getting wet. But weatherheads can still be damaged by winds, resulting in a loss of power.

NIPSCO has emphasized that homeowners must repair damaged weatherheads before the company can safely bring back their power.

Meanwhile, will the City of Gary sue NIPSCO?

"I know that there's already several lawsuits that are taking place, and we have several demands before the company right now in terms of reimbursing customers for the lost timeframe," said Melton.

Melton himself worked for NIPSCO for more than 15 years, in government affairs, community relations, and employee engagement.

"But I still worked closely with folks in operations, so I understand the process when it comes down to recovery," he said.

In USA Today last week, Kofi Mframa wrote an op-ed noting that nearly 80% of the residents of Gary are Black, and more than a third of the city lives in poverty. Mframa said disinvestment and neglect over decades have made Gary vulnerable to such devastation.

Mframa also took NIPSCO to task, accusing the company of failing to protect its customers, and also noted that NIPSCO has entered the race to build data centers, while dismissing NIPSCO's contention that those data centers will not increase customers' power bills.

As to sussing out what is to blame for the extended power outage in Gary, Melton said it is "part of the review process."

"I know [Gov. Mike Braun] has issued a request for an investigation, and in that investigation, I'm hoping that they're going to look at the maintenance schedule, the maintenance of equipment, the age of equipment," Melton said, "and the request that we put before NIPSCO is looking at, will the infrastructure upgrades that we need to make be durable enough to endure winds over 100 miles an hour? That's a true question that has to be answered."

Melton said the first question he and Gary residents had for NIPSCO during the outage was why Gary was not even listed in the timeframe estimates for restoration. But he said after several conversations on that topic, "we started getting the real data and the real timeframe."

Media and political consultant Delmarie Cobb said disinvestment over the years in Gary is indeed partially to blame for the conditions that ended up leaving so much of the city without power for so long.

"If you go drive through Gary, I mean, you can't help but see the poverty. I mean, it hits you in the face, and you know if you've got a community like that, that infrastructure is failing everywhere," Cobb said, "and so I'm sure it's been a lot of ignoring things that needed to be fixed, and when you have a disaster like this, all of that comes to the forefront."

Former Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said it is very difficult to predict the outcome of an "act of God" like the derecho.

"But utilities also have backup plans, emergency plans for these types of situations. ComEd does a very good job here in the Chicagoland area, but something fell apart in that part of Indiana," Durkin said. "The Indiana Utility Board is going to have to do an investigation, also the mayor, of where was the response? Where was the response? And it would be tragic if it didn't come down to the lack of investment. But the thing is, that is going to play out."

Durkin said ultimately, he agreed with Cobb that the issue is a lack of investment with NIPSCO, and from state regulators and officeholders in that part of Indiana, regarding infrastructure issues and utility delivery problems in the northwest part of the state.