Power & Ice

Massive Ice Storms

Electric customers in Holland experienced minimal outages during the massive ice storms that swept across Michigan just before Christmas last year. The December 22 storm left hundreds of thousands without power across the state, many of whom did not see power restored until well after Christmas.

Reduced Outages

Holland was not as hard-hit as other communities in the state, in part because of Holland BPW’s proactive efforts to reduce outages such as our extensive tree-trimming program, which helps keep lines clear of dangerous branches. Our distribution system also has several neighborhoods that are protected by Smart Grid technology that can automatically reroute power in the case of an incident.

Of course, no system is perfect, and HBPW linemen investigated and repaired five outages affecting 74 customers during the December 22 storm. Four of the outages were resolved in less than two hours and the fifth was resolved in four hours.

“This past winter was brutal; one of the worst anyone can remember,” said Bill Bush, superintendent of transmission and distribution at HBPW. “We’re exceptionally proud of our linemen who were out in the worst of it keeping the lights on for the people in our community.”

While this year’s biggest storm never escalated to a crisis level, Holland BPW has up-to-date emergency response plans in place should we experience a more severe weather event in the future.

Outage Information

Information on outages is available through our website, facebook or on twitter: @HBPWStorm.