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So, let me get this straight. Nearly 3,000 people in Flint, Michigan, are about to get their power shut off for eight hours overnight. On purpose. And the best that Consumers Energy can muster is a pre-written statement thanking everyone for their "patience."
Give me a break.
This isn't just some routine maintenance. This is a multi-billion dollar corporation telling a city—a city that has already endured more than its fair share of infrastructural nightmares—to just deal with it. They're flipping the switch from 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. because they need to perform "critical work" on a substation. Offcourse, it's always "critical." It’s never "we probably should have replaced this gear ten years ago but didn't, so now you have to sit in the dark."
The whole thing was supposed to go down on Monday, but it got bumped to Tuesday. The DATE CHANGE: Nearly 2,900 Flint Consumers Energy customers to be without overnight power for maintenance was blamed on a little rain in the forecast. You heard that right. The "critical" work that's so vital it requires shutting down power for thousands is apparently too delicate to be performed if there's a chance of a thunderstorm.
What kind of Rube Goldberg machine are they running over there? Does the entire grid of `Consumers Energy Michigan` collapse if a technician gets his boots wet? This is the company we trust to keep our lights on, and they're calling a rain delay like it's a Little League game. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it?
The Corporate Translation Guide
Let's talk about the statement. You always have to read the statement. It's a masterclass in saying absolutely nothing while trying to sound responsible.
Steve Herrygers, a senior exec at `Consumers Energy`, dropped this little gem: “We understand this work will have an impact on many people who count on us, but it’s important that we do this work now to prevent a power outage that we can’t plan for.”
Allow me to translate from Corporate-Speak to English.
“We understand this work will have an impact...”
Translation: We are legally obligated to acknowledge that you exist and that turning off your electricity is, technically, an inconvenience. We have now checked that box.
“...but it’s important that we do this work now...”
Translation: Our equipment is aging, and our models show a non-zero chance of it catastrophically failing. Doing it this way means we control the narrative and avoid the bad press that comes with a sudden, messy blackout during prime time.
“...to prevent a power outage that we can’t plan for.”
Translation: We’d rather you be angry at us on our schedule than on Mother Nature’s. An unplanned outage means overtime, frantic repairs, and angry calls to the `Consumers Energy phone number`. A planned one is just... Tuesday.
This isn't about ensuring reliability out of the goodness of their hearts. It's risk management. It’s a calculated business decision where the "cost" is your comfort and security for eight hours. They're not being proactive; they're mitigating their own future headaches. And we're supposed to just smile and say thank you, because...
It's just an inconvenience. No, that’s not right—for some people, an eight-hour outage is a genuine crisis. What about folks who rely on medical equipment? People working the night shift from home? Or just a family with a baby who needs a bottle warmer at 3 a.m.? The company line is always that they've made provisions, but we all know how that goes. It’s a one-size-fits-all solution that fits almost no one perfectly.
The Illusion of Choice
The most infuriating part of all this is the complete lack of agency for the average `consumer`. You get a notice, maybe a robocall or an email, and that's it. Your life is put on hold. You can't opt out. You can't reschedule. You just have to accept it.
It reminds me of my own internet provider. The wind blows the wrong way and my connection drops for an hour. I call customer service and get a robot telling me they're "aware of an issue in my area." Yeah, I'm aware, too. My screen is blank. This dynamic—where a monolithic service provider holds all the cards—is the same whether it's `DTE Energy` or `Consumers Energy`. They operate on a level so far removed from the individual customer that we cease to be people and just become data points on a `Consumers Energy outage map`.
We're told this is for our own good. A necessary evil to prevent a greater one. But is it? How did we get to a place where the infrastructure is so brittle that it requires taking a whole neighborhood offline to fix a single part? Why aren't these "critical" updates done with redundant systems that don't require a total shutdown? I'm no electrical engineer, but it seems like we've accepted a pretty fragile system as the norm. Maybe I'm the crazy one here, but I feel like in 2025, we should be able to repair a substation without making 2,900 households feel like they're living in the 19th century for a night.
They’ve made sure to point out that McLaren Flint Hospital won't be affected. That's fantastic, and obviously the right call. But it also serves as a subtle reminder of the hierarchy of importance. The hospital matters. The rest of you? Charge your phones and find some candles. Hope your fridge doesn't smell weird in the morning.
This whole episode ain't about a power outage. It's about power itself. The power of a utility to dictate the terms of modern life, and our complete powerlessness to do anything but nod and wait for the lights to come back on.
Your Patience Has Been Duly Noted
At the end of the day, they'll flip the switch back on Wednesday morning, issue a press release about the "successful and critical upgrades," and pat themselves on the back. The 2,900 customers will reset their blinking digital clocks, and life will go on. But don't mistake this for a functional system. It’s a system of patches and apologies, where the customer’s "patience" is treated as an infinite, extractable resource. And they're banking on you being too tired to complain.