LAKE COUNTY, Ind. () — Thousands of residents in northwest Indiana spent Friday facing yet another day without electricity.
At the same time, Northern Indiana Public Service Company is now facing a class-action lawsuit. The complaint alleges NIPSCO failed to adequately manage vegetation near and around power lines, claiming downed trees contributed to widespread power outages that disrupted residents’ daily lives.
The outages come in the wake of severe storms that swept through the region, leaving thousands of northwest Indiana customers waiting for power restoration as families deal with rising costs, interrupted routines and mounting frustration.
For Lake Station resident Lori Bugielski, the extended power outage has become an exhausting ordeal for her household.
“It’s mentally draining. I’m almost at my wits end,” Bugielski said.
On Friday, Bugielski took her family to the River Forest Community School Corporation in Hobart, where residents affected by the outages were being offered meals and other support services.
Bugielski said her family has been without power since last week’s storms and has had to stay in hotels while waiting for electricity to return.
“We’ve had to be in and out of hotels, we’ve gone to libraries, and places where hotspots are so we can able to function have a job and work,” she said.
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She estimated the financial impact has been significant.
“At least 1500 dollars between hotels and feeding the children throughout this whole ordeal,” Bugielski said.
The River Forest Community School Corporation has been providing hot meals and hygiene products to affected families as outages continue across the region.
“Here at this site since Tuesday the need has grown everyday from 300 the first day to 550 yesterday, we’re going to over that today,” said Superintendent Kevin Trezak.
Some Indiana residents in one Gary community are dealing with another layer of issues due to these power outages.
People living in the Woods Park subdivision of Gary say they just got a new sewer system installed, but it needs power to work. It’s causing pipes to backup and flood some yards.
Portable bathrooms and showers have been setup as the city works to get things back online, but some residents say those efforts aren’t enough.
A newly filed class-action lawsuit on behalf of Indiana residents alleges the widespread outages could have been prevented. Attorneys representing plaintiffs claim NIPSCO failed to properly manage vegetation and did not conduct adequate inspections of utility poles and power lines.
“This situation was predictable. It was obvious and it was preventable,” said attorney Otto J. Shragal of the Allen Law Group.
NIPSCO denied the allegations, saying it maintains an active vegetation management program and plans to vigorously defend itself through the legal process.
The utility also addressed concerns from customers who remain without power while continuing to receive utility bills.
“With respect to customer’s bills, we’ve suspended any kind of disconnection through the next week,” said NIPSCO President Melody Birmingham. “We’ll continue to work with our customers and put programs in place for any customers who have a difficult time paying that bill.”
“So much damage was done, so many consumers were harmed, but it doesn’t mean that the lawsuit is going to succeed,” ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer said.
Soffer said the plaintiffs face an uphill battle.
“Where were the trees in question? Were they within the zone for which the utility is responsible? Were they on private property? Were they outside of those areas? Each of those questions will have to be answered one by one,” Soffer said.
NIPSCO said issued the following statement:
“We strongly disagree with the characterization of NIPSCO’s vegetation management practices in the Amended Complaint and the various press conferences held by the law firm of Kenneth Allen Law Group. We will vigorously defend the company through the legal process. NIPSCO’s electric operations, including its active vegetation management program, are overseen by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. NIPSCO’s vegetation management spend has more than doubled since 2016, demonstrating our commitment and focus on maintaining a safe and reliable electric system. NIPSCO understands the impact that prolonged outages can have on our customers and communities, particularly following storms, and in particular, the severe weather events that caused unprecedented damage across NIPSCO’s electric system that recently transpired. Safety and reliability are fundamental to how we operate, and we have established processes and procedures to maintain our electric system, including our vegetation management program. Our immediate focus remains on restoring service to affected customers safely and as quickly as possible.”
