Gary Power Outage Leaves Thousands Without Electricity 10 Days After Storms

Food aid and generators help Gary residents endure prolonged blackout

GARY, Indiana — More than 22,000 customers in Gary remained without electricity Thursday, 10 days after severe storms swept through northwest Indiana and caused what residents described as a historic Gary power outage. The extended blackout has spoiled food, disrupted medical care, closed businesses and forced families to rely on community assistance while waiting for service to return.

NIPSCO, the utility serving Gary, said 22,000 of its 35,800 customers in the city — about 61% — were still without power Thursday. The company said it expected to complete restoration work in Gary by Tuesday, although residents said earlier projected return dates had been pushed back.

At Gospel Truth Apostolic Ministry, 5829 W. 15th Ave., volunteers distributed bread, cheese, deli meat, canned goods and other groceries to households dealing with the outage. Lisa Bryant arrived with her mother, Jackie Parker Bryant, and said the food would help the family get through the next several days.

“This will at least nourish us for a couple of days,” Bryant said as volunteers loaded a box into her vehicle.

Bryant, 47, said her home had been completely dark since the storms. Cooler weather had allowed the family to open windows, she said, but uncertainty over when electricity would return has made the situation especially difficult. She said refrigerated and frozen food had spoiled and that buying a generator was beyond her budget. She also worried about theft after hearing that a neighbor’s generator had been taken from a porch.

The outage has also cut into Bryant’s income. She works as a food service manager at a nearby school, but classes across Gary have been canceled until power is restored. The Gary Community School Corporation did not respond to a request for comment about the interruption.

Medical needs and business losses compound storm recovery

For Parker Bryant, 75, the blackout has created additional expenses and health concerns. She and her husband, Alan, have been running a generator to keep medical equipment operating and medication cold. Both use CPAP machines while sleeping, and Alan, who has diabetes, needs refrigeration for his medicine.

“We’re retired. We don’t have money to spare,” Parker Bryant said.

Businesses across the city have also been affected. Restaurants, grocery stores, banks and gas stations remained closed or operated with limited services as the outage continued. Saleh Mohamed, owner of the Clark gas station at 2295 Richard Gordon Hatcher Blvd., said his business was closed for four days before he obtained generators.

Mohamed said two generators now keep the pumps, lights and cash register running, but cannot fully power the station. When the business reopened Sunday, customers arrived in large numbers seeking fuel for vehicles and generators. He said the station remains among relatively few operating locations in the area.

Charles Hughes, president of the Gary Chamber of Commerce, said businesses had not received a separate restoration schedule because NIPSCO was prioritizing residential service. Hospitals, considered critical infrastructure, have had power restored, according to officials.

Mayor Eddie Melton said Wednesday that a $100,000 donation from Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana would aid the city’s storm recovery response. The funding is intended to provide direct support to affected residents and help distribute food, water, hygiene supplies, and cleaning and debris-removal materials.

Pastor Valerie Clarke said Gospel Truth Apostolic Ministry normally provides groceries at least monthly, but demand has risen sharply during the power crisis. “No one should have to go hungry,” she said. As restoration crews continued work, thousands of Gary residents remained without electricity Thursday, with NIPSCO projecting full service restoration by Tuesday.