A Monday morning blackout hits southwestern Kent County

Around 10,400 Consumers Energy customers lost power on Monday morning in a sudden outage that swept through Grandville, Wyoming, and Byron Township. The blackout began shortly before 11 a.m. on May 25, leaving residents without electricity at the height of the workday.

According to the Consumers Energy interactive outage map, the outages first appeared around 10:55 a.m. in a cluster across the three communities.

What caused the outage

Crews initially suspected a problem with a transmission line operated by ITC Michigan. But after investigation, they determined the real culprit was a tap failure that connects the ITC line to Consumers Energy substations.

Three substations were impacted by the failure.

Power restored by evening

Crews worked through the day to restore service. By 2:30 p.m., two of the three substations were back online. Approximately 5,600 customers remained without power as of 3:30 p.m.

All power was restored around 5 p.m., according to the Consumers Energy outage map.

What this means for Grandville residents

The outage affected homes, businesses, and schools across Grandville during a typical school and work day. Residents with medical equipment, refrigerated medications, or food in freezers faced the same challenges as their neighbors in Wyoming and Byron Township.

Consumers Energy did not release a statement about whether the tap failure was preventable or what steps the company plans to take to avoid a repeat.

The bigger picture

Tap failures are a known vulnerability in the grid. They occur at the connection point between two utility systems, and a single failure can knock out power to thousands of customers across multiple jurisdictions.

Consumers Energy serves more than 2.2 million customers across Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The company operates one of the largest utility networks in the Midwest.

Residents who experienced damage from the outage can file claims through Consumers Energy or their home insurance providers.

"The outage was initially thought to be caused by a transmission line from ITC Michigan, but crews were able to determine the outage was the result of a tap failure that connects the ITC line to Consumers Energy substations."

— WOOD TV 8, reporting on the outage

What to do if it happens again

Consumers Energy advises customers to:

• Keep a list of emergency contacts handy
• Unplug sensitive electronics during outages to avoid surge damage when power returns
• Keep refrigerators and freezers closed to preserve food
• Use the Consumers Energy outage map at consumersenergy.com/outagemap to track restoration progress in real time

This story was reported from Grandville, Michigan. For more local news, follow Grand Rapids Press Wire.