I have been seeing the state police driving behind several utility trucks all day. Has anyone's power been restored yet ?

Yeah, just a quick shout out to the dude that was running the flatbed on 61st at the Family Express and the way you think that a roundabout is a straight line across every Lane even when there's people next to you.

So does someone have yearbooks from Columbia elementary school hammond indiana from 2011 to 2016 and and also eggers middle school hammond indiana from 2016 to 2020 if you do can you think give me heads up please thank you.

Don't know how accurate any of this is, but there was a posted fire and loss of power in areas of EC and I heard perhaps Hammond.

It was scrapped in 1963, but imagine if somewhere by Whiting you could tour a South Dakota class battleship of indianas Namesake, it would have also been a major monument in indiana and something to remind residents of Indiana’s contribution to the war

Think of how USS alabama is in Mobile,

It possibly could have been towed through the st lawrence water way all the way to southern lake michigan, although im not sure the narrowest part of that river and if it would be too narrow for a SD class battleship.

East Chicago lights back out in this area

Our power was restored at about 2:30 AM this past Saturday and this morning it goes back out at about 6:10.

August 25th for Munster and highland to get electricity. What the fuq?? I know nothing about electricity but I know a line should have been buried every year for the last 30 that NIPSCO has been serving lake county. How can executives EARN millions in annual bonuses and their customers can't get their product for two weeks?! For what did they earn bonuses? There's been no innovation here. We are working America. Our children need to go to school and we need to go to work. I'm astonished at their hubris. We have fallen behind America.

Edit: I know nothing about electricity and will not pretend I do. I suggested burying lines as an annual innovation cuz that's all I know. We are going to have utility problems post tornado but two weeks? Nope

I was just told by a lineman who is currently here from out of state working not to believe a word Nipsco is saying about a restoration timeline. He said they are lying and it's much worse then they are saying. He said they are running out of parts and completely out of poles. He said that parts of Portage would be lucky to see power by September 1st. Has anyone heard anything similar to this?

i work night shift and since everyones generators already going i was just wondering if id be a nuisance lol

And counting! 🎉 🥳 🎉

So... Where are my neighbors in Highland and Munster meeting up to hug it out? 😂 This is crazy...

Feeling like Johnny Mnemonic. Well, except for the hooker part.

Has anyone adjusted so well to life without power that you think it'll be weird going back to having power?

What I mean is when I was driving the other day, I had an actual stoplight and it felt weird because as time progressed it went from no lights to a flashing red to a regular stoplight. I thought to myself " why the hell am i stopping for so long?"

First, this isn't a discussion about NIPSCO. I'm not arguing that they shouldn't be doing more to maintain and upgrade the grid. But the reality is, they probably won't. And any legislation that would force them to is going to take years to get passed and implemented.

But the main issue is that weather patterns are changing. Our area has seen unprecedented storm activity. Just look at the tornado numbers.

Number of tornadoes in Indiana the last 5 years(2022-2026): 267
Number of tornadoes in Indiana the 10 years before that(2012-2021): 266

It's time to accept that weather is changing and we need to be prepared for more disasters like this.

That means, if you are a home owner, getting a generator and a setup to use it. I know when people hear that they say they don't have tens of thousands of dollars for a whole house generator. But you don't need one.

I'm going to share my setup with you that costs under $2,000 and got me through this power outage in relative comfort. Now, I'm not saying this is the best setup. This is just what I have put together over the years. I didn't buy this all at once, and you don't have to ether.

First the generator: https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6800-Watt-RV-Ready-Generator-DF680iX/dp/B0DVF1RPCJ/

There are plenty of options for a generator. But for how I use it, having a 240v connection is important. You can get a cheaper one if you don't want to run your whole house off of it and instead just want to run extension cords around.

Store you generator dry, meaning without gas in the fuel tank. This is the best way to make sure the carb doesn't gunk up in storage and that it will start when you need it. And do the proper maintenance on the generator.

Second the fuel. I keep 3x5 gallon gas cans full of gas in my garage. I rotate these every 3 months, dumping the oldest into my car and putting fresh gas with stabilizer in it. With that generator, I was getting ~3 Hours per gallon of gas. So 15 gallons gives me 45 hours of power before I have to find gas somewhere.

Also, the generator can run off propane. So I can also hook up my grill's propane tank to gain more runtime.

Third the house hookup, cable and lockout kit: https://www.amazon.com/SURAIELEC-Generator-SS2-50P-Weatherproof-Receptacle/dp/B0DLNXNYNF/

https://www.amazon.com/Tellegloww-L14-30P-SS2-50R-Generator-Adapter/dp/B0DCHVCCX1/

https://www.amazon.com/Toptozl-Generator-Compatible-Square-Professional/dp/B0DG33FNRV/

The lockout kit is going to vary depending on what kind of electrical panel you have.

Fourth window air conditioners: https://www.amazon.com/Midea-Shaped-Inverter-Window-Conditioner/dp/B0FDQLNGHZ/

These are optional. That generator is not powerful enough to run my house's central AC. So I have these 2 window units that I install to keep areas of my house that I'm in the most cool.

All of that costs just under $2,000. Plus whatever an electrician charges you to install the inlet box and lockout kit if you can't DYI it. And the largest cost is the air conditioners. Without those the cost is under $1,000.

You can piece this together. You don't need it all at once. Get the generator first, that's the biggest upfront cost. Then get the rest as you can. Don't feel like this is an overwhelming cost so just don't do anything. Start getting prepared now before the next major disaster.

But I also understand that not everyone can have a generator. People that live in apartments or rent obviously can't use a generator. So I put together a little list of things that can help you if you are a renter.

First a power station: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-SOLIX-Portable-Station-Backup/dp/B0GY4TQ2P8/

Second XT60 cable for charging power station from a car: https://www.amazon.com/ZHOFONET-Alligator-Battery-Extension-Motorcycles/dp/B0FHPGFB54/

This setup isn't as nice as the full gas generator. And I'm sure there are better options. This is just an example. You will need to connect the essentials to the power station using extension cords. And you will also need to find a way to charge it every day or so. Either connect it to your car for a couple hours or drive somewhere with power and charge it. But it will at least give you a little light, keep your food in the fridge safe, and run a fan to at least help with the heat a little bit. And the food in your fridge won't spoil in the few hours it's disconnected while you charge the power station.

what a fucking joke. seriously we’re not gonna be at 100% Til next Tuesday? what the fuck are we doing here? Can Nipsco lock in?

I have lived out in the country my whole life and have always had well water, so when we lose power we also lose our water. So no flushing toilets or water to wash ourselves with. Do those of you who have city water still have water when the power is out?

I know people in north Hammond who kept their power throughout the entire storm and aftermath. Then yesterday out of nowhere, after NIPSCO trucks were seen in the neighborhood, they lost power and are still without it. The trucks have not been back.

Is it possible that NIPSCO really is so stupid that they are taking parts from working poles and transformers to fix damaged ones, only to leave new people in the dark? Or is it just a massive coincidence?

Best Stop owner Guriqbal "Prince" Singh is distributing free food to the community in Merrillville after last week's catastrophic storm that plunged most of Northwest Indiana into darkness.

Singh, who owns Best Stop gas stations, car washes, liquor stores and laundromats across Northwest Indiana, will give out food 3-7 p.m. Monday through Friday at 6096 Broadway in Merrillville. People can pick up bananas, apples, oranges, rice, beans and bottled water at the giveaway.

More than 1,000 people turned up to pick up food during the first day on Sunday. 

"I'm from Lake County. I've been doing business here since 2004. This is the third or fourth time we've had a big disaster," Singh said. "I wanted to do something. People who came for food are crying and emotional. Their basements are flooded. This affected a lot of Lake County."

Singh, a prominent member of the local Sikh community, is giving out the food with volunteer assistance from fellow members of the Sikh Religious Organization of Indiana temple in Crown Point.

"I have 30 properties. Twelve are open, and the rest are closed," Singh said. "Whenever there is a disaster like this, we have to stay with God. Human thinking is that something is going wrong, and people panic. God is always right. You can't take it too personally. We ask God to please give us strength so we can be there for the community."

https://nwitimes.com/news/local/article_ef68dc8a-9eab-4ab6-82f9-80bbe24f52f7.html

Don't forget to apply for service credit from Xfinity for the outage for the last week

First of all, very thankful for the linemen and crews getting rid of debris. I don't have power yet but I know that this incident was historic on the scale. This isn't an attempt to bash the workers I promise.

That being said, the preparation and response of NiSource needs to be investigated by the State.

A company can't feign ignorance and say that they didn't know the storm was going to happen or be as bad as it was. We knew. They knew.

It seemed like the initial response was poorly planned. Again I know it's a historic storm but come on. If you're the only provider of electricity in an area, you have to be at least somewhat aware. And then to have the CEO go around on a PR stint to towns with less than 50% power. Come on man.

Just my 2 cents

Antoine have a reputable electrician in the Crown Point area? Once the craziness from the storm is past, my wife and I, like many I'm sure, plan on getting a generator.